A triangular gate with a base width of $2$ m and a height of $1.5$ m lies in a vertical plane. The top vertex of the gate is $1.5$ m below the surface of a tank which contains oil of specific gravity $0.8$. Considering the density of water and acceleration due to gravity to be $1000 \: kg/m^3$ and $9.81 m/s^2$ respectively, the hydrostatic force (in kN) exerted by the oil on the gate is _________.