KFC fined for failing to ensure diners kept in groups of two at Far East Plaza outlet
Google Street View screengrab of the KFC outlet at Far East Plaza.
SINGAPORE: Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) Management was fined S$3,000 by a district court on Friday (Mar 4) for failing to ensure that its diners kept in groups of two at its Far East Plaza outlet.
A representative pleaded guilty on behalf of the fried chicken chain to one count of breaching a COVID-19 control order. A second charge was taken into consideration.
The court heard that the KFC outlet at Far East Plaza was open to customers on the night of Jul 10, 2021.
Singapore Tourism Board (STB) enforcement officers on duty outside the restaurant looked inside and saw four customers dining in a group inside, exceeding the permitted number of two customers at the time.
Investigations revealed that the four customers had entered the restaurant at about 9.45pm and sat at two adjacent tables. They interacted with one another as a single cohort during the meal, said the prosecutor.
KFC staff members did not pay attention to them nor notice them interacting as one cohort, he added.
The restaurant failed to take all reasonable measures to ensure that every customer was allocated into and remained in activity cohorts consisting of not more than two individuals each, the court heard.
The prosecutor asked for a fine of S$3,000. He said KFC Management had received three offers for composition fines previously for breaching COVID-19 control orders.
It was given a S$1,000 composition or out-of-court fine once in January 2021 and twice in June 2021. These were for breaching COVID-19 regulations including safe distancing for seating and queues.
The prosecutor could not confirm if the previous fines were for the same outlet or across KFC's outlets, but the company representative did not dispute the three fines.Â
In mitigation, the company representative said KFC has since taken steps to ensure procedures are stepped up and asked the court to consider a lower fine.
In imposing the fine asked for by the prosecution, the judge said the maximum fine for such an offence is S$10,000, and that the crowd involved here was "quite a big crowd".
