Mr Shyam Raj, who runs the Al Capone’s Far East Shopping Centre bar on the second floor of the mall, said that he heard the fire alarm go off at about 10.15pm.
While he initially thought that it was a periodic test being conducted by the building’s management, the alarm continued ringing for 10 minutes, and a friend reported that the building’s basement was smoky.
“Immediately, I went to the scene and the building was smelling of an electrical fire, or at least it seemed like (it),” said Mr Shyam Raj, adding that staff and customers at Al Capone’s were evacuated at about 11.10pm.
“The place had a bad smell. The lobby smelt of burning rubber and it was filled with smoke.”
According to Mr Shyam Raj, firefighters spent about 30 minutes breaking the lock and cutting the grille of the shop.
SCDF said the cause of the fire is under investigation.