Port Elizabeth club fined for selling alcohol after 6pm restriction – report

A club in Port Elizabeth was handed a fine of R2,500 by Nelson Mandela Bay Metro Police after it was found selling alcohol after the 18:00 restriction.

Metro Police Chief Yolande Faro told the Daily Dispatch that the fine was issued following law enforcement patrols on Friday night.

The clampdown comes after government introduced new regulations on Wednesday to curb the spread of the highly contagious Covid-19 which originated from Wuhan, China.

On Friday Minister of Police Bheki Cele together with Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola called a briefing in Pretoria to outline their respective departmental measures to effectively implement the Covid-19 Disaster Management Regulation.

READ: Coronavirus: Out drinking after cut-off time? Watch out, police have spotters out there

Among some of the measures Cele announced was that in order for the police to ensure the restrictions to selling alcohol were being adhered to police spotters would be deployed to every restaurant, club and pub in the country. The restrictions kick in at 18:00 on weekdays and Saturdays, and 13:00 on public holidays and Sundays.

The police have recorded 19,971 taverns, 11,000 bottle stores, just over 9 000 restaurants and over just over 2,000 clubs.

According to the minister, the spotters that will be monitoring these spaces are members of various units of the police service, however it is not clear whether they will be identifiable or not.

“At 18:00, selling and consumption of alcohol shuts down but places where there is food continue. If you buy your bottle of alcohol at 17:55 – you will have to take it home, you cannot finish it at the restaurant.

“If you break these laws, police will be dispersed,” Cele warned the nation during the briefing.

He further clarified that in instances where the police find a gathering that surpasses the 100-person restriction, it will not implement mass arrests but “the owner or organiser will be arrested”.

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