SINGAPORE – A clampdown on criminal activities over the festive period that also targeted errant motorists and public entertainment outlets has led to more than 500 arrests.
In a release on Dec 27, the police said officers from across the force, and their counterparts at multiple agencies, had conducted more than 1,400 operations from Nov 22.
The year-end operations are to deter unlawful activities during the festive period, and target a wide spectrum of offences, including drink driving, vaping, drugs, illegal employment and immigration violations.
Officers checked more than 15,900 people during the operations and arrested 546 of them.
A total of 1,771 people aged 15 to 88, consisting of 1,161 men and 610 women, are being investigated, the police added.
The raids at public entertainment outlets followed the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) announcement on Dec 1 that it will be
scrapping the Work Permit (Performing Artiste) scheme
from June 1, 2026.
This was after widespread abuse of the scheme was uncovered, with syndicates using shell public entertainment outlets to hire foreign performing artistes who were later found working at other public entertainment outlets as “freelance hostesses”.
Operations from Dec 3 to 6 targeted illicit activities at such outlets and at massage establishments, residential units and commercial units.
A total of 10 men and 37 women, aged between 20 and 88, are being investigated in relation to the activities.
Two massage establishments and two public entertainment outlets are also under investigation.
The media on Dec 20 accompanied the authorities on an operation targeting public entertainment outlets in Macpherson Road on Dec 20, where a 43-year-old man was found with a vape.
Later that night and into the early hours of Dec 21, the media witnessed enforcement operations against drink driving.
The traffic enforcement operation was conducted just days ahead of
enhanced penalties for speeding,
which will kick in from Jan 1, 2026.
The checks, which were conducted islandwide, saw 14 arrests for various traffic-related offences, including driving without a valid licence and driving while under disqualification.
Police said 10 of the arrests were for drink driving.
One driver was found with 73 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath, which is more than twice the legal limit of 35 micrograms.
While it was largely a traffic enforcement operation, officers also found eight people with a total of 37 vapes and vape components, which were then seized.
More than 2,700 people have been
fined for vape-related offences
since tougher penalties came into effect on Sept 1.
Separately, the authorities also conducted enhanced operations targeting car-sharing vehicles.
A 23-year-old man was arrested for multiple offences including driving without a valid licence, driving without the owner’s consent, driving without insurance coverage and cheating by impersonation.
Two women, both 22, were also found to be driving without insurance coverage.
2025’s
Anti-Drink Drive Campaign
was launched on Nov 21, the day before the authorities launched a series of enforcement operations.
At the launch, Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs Sim Ann said there were still motorists who took reckless risks with their own lives and those of other road users.
She noted that the number of people arrested for drink driving rose from 1,130 during the first eight months of 2024 to 1,173 for the same period in 2025.
The authorities also conducted two operations on Nov 22 that targeted illegal massage outlets in the vicinity of Jurong East Avenue 1 and illegal horse betting activities in Bukit Batok Street 31.
Three outlets were found to have provided massage services without a valid licence. In total, 14 women were arrested during the raids.
Separately, nine men and a woman are being investigated for illegal gambling following raids that saw more than $10,000 in cash seized.
Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police Leon Chan, director of Operations Department, said the authorities will continue to taken firm action against those who break the law.
He added: “These operations underscore our unwavering commitment to keeping Singapore safe, especially during the festive period.”