SINGAPORE: If you cannot the bend the rules, go around them. That's what some cybercafés here have been doing, to keep up a stream of young customers on weekdays.

The regulations are clear, if such cafes want to keep their licences under the Public Entertainment and Meetings Act: No patrons under 16 years on the premises before 6.30pm on a school day.

But there is a loophole. The public entertainment licence is not mandatory if cybercafés register themselves as clubs with the Registry of Societies.

This means young patrons, even those dressed in school uniforms, can come and go freely on a school day. The students simply have to sign up as club members.

When TODAY visited some cybercafés situated near schools on a recent afternoon, they were clearly taking advantage of the loophole. Students in uniform produced their identification cards and were issued membership on the spot.

For $1.50 an hour, the patrons, mostly school boys, can surf the Internet or play games such as World of Warcraft and Diablo II at assigned computers.

Meanwhile, A4-sized notices pasted at the entrances of these cafes stated that "students are advised not to skip lessons". Two cybercafés even offered prize money for members who scored well in their exams.

Some do their own form of policing. Members who violated the club's rules by, for instance, surfing for porn, were banned from the cafés and had their photographs displayed.

Some youths told TODAY they knew which were the cybercafés that would allow them in on school days in their school attire.

"I signed up as a member and can play when I want to," said Eric Fernando, 16.

Student Mark Tan, 15, was not aware there was anything illegal about visiting such cyber "clubs", which he has been doing for two years.

"If it is wrong, why was I able to get membership so easily, and why were there no issues about what I wore and what time I play?" he said.

Youth counselling centres told TODAY there is a need to enforce stricter rules, as the problem of gaming addiction grows and cybercafés proliferate.

Dr Carol Balhetchet, director of Youth Service Centre (Toa Payoh) at the Singapore Children's Society, said that every week, she sees cases of parents who have taken out a "Beyond Parental Control" order on children whose gaming addiction has led to delinquent activities.

"We need a little more regulatory protection for those youths aged 16 and below, as well as more vigilance in the cybercafés to ensure that not too excessive an amount of time is being spent there," said Dr Balhetchet.

Touch Community Services has counselled more than 80 youths in the past one-and-a-half years for excessive gaming problems. Its cyber wellness and sports manager, Mr Poh Yeang Cherng, said it was easy to find clients and owners of cybercafés flouting the rules.

At Dunman Secondary School, which has at least five cybercafés in its vicinity, principal Edelweiss Neo said she has seen students whose gaming habit has affected their schoolwork and behaviour.

The cybercafés often close a blind eye to the no-uniform rule, she added. And this is a concern for parent Ms Wendy Chua, 46.

"Youths can easily get hooked on gaming when there is no strict supervision," said Ms Chua, who limits her 14-year-old son's time at the computer.

"The authorities should require that cybercafés be located further from schools, as once you place them at the students' doorstep, the temptation is there."


- TODAY/so