Killing the buzz: Curbing public drinking in Singapore

Abstract

On weekend nights, youngsters would often congregate along pedestrian bridges and public sidewalks in Clarke Quay and Robertson Quay to drink before moving into the surrounding clubs for a night of dancing. Similarly, foreign workers would gather in public fields or in the void decks of Housing Development Block (HDB) flats on weekends to drink and unwind. Unsurprisingly, residents living around these drinking ‘hotspots’ frequently expressed dismay over the nuisances created by large groups of drinkers, such as vomiting, rowdiness, and sometimes even violence. This case explores whether policy-makers should clamp down on public drinking in these hotspots, and if so, how they could go about doing so. The case then provides an overview of a new law restricting public drinking that was passed in 2015, and examines reactions to this law.