Sentosa sky lantern festival: Police investigating event amid complaints, calls for refunds

Source: CNA

SINGAPORE: Police investigations into the Singapore Sky Lantern Festival are ongoing amid complaints made against the event organiser and calls for refunds from attendees who were left disappointed and angry.

The police confirmed on Thursday (Mar 7) that a report has been lodged and that investigations are ongoing.

Participants had been sold on the promise of a photogenic lantern light-up with burning candles at Sentosa's Palawan Green on Feb 21. The lanterns were meant to float in the sky while being tethered to the ground.

However, scores of attendees were let down when they arrived only to be told that "unforeseen circumstances" had changed these plans, with LED candles offered instead and the light-up scrapped.

Tickets cost S$50 each excluding booking fees. One of the event organisers, Ms Shiermie Bautista, said in a since-deleted Facebook post that about 2,500 people attended the festival and collected their lanterns.