Singapore police continues to bust prostitution rackets, arrests 14 women

US investigators bust prostitution ring that enslaved hundreds of Thai women
A Thai go-go dancers waits for customers at Bangkok's normally packed Soi Cowboy red-light area just before curfew May 25, 2010. Bar owners and go-go dancers say a night-time curfew in the Thai capital has badly affected their business, with tourist scared off and expatriate customers staying home. REUTERS

Singapore Police through a statement revealed that they have nabbed 14 women at Sembawang and Sengkang this month for offering sexual services. During the operation, police seized mobile phones and cash worth $1970. The arrested women are aged between 22 and 49, and their identities have been kept under the wraps.

Singaporean flesh market grows

Even though the police is conducting thorough searches to end the growing flesh trade in Singapore, some prostitution rackets are still operating in the country and the recent arrests substantiate this fact. As per the statement issued by the Police, thirteen women were arrested for engaging in prostitution. Another woman was nabbed for working in Singapore without a valid work permit. This accused, police said, was also involved in prostitution.

According to Police officials, these women were finding customers via online websites and social media platforms. These women were providing services from some HDB flats, and a condominium unit in Sembawang and Sengkang. Police revealed that further investigations are going on and the house owners will be interrogated soon to obtain more details.

As per Singaporean laws, a woman who indulges in prostitution will be jailed up to five years in jail, fined up to $10,000 or both. On the other hand, people who knowingly live on the earnings of a prostitute, for example, the house owner may get a combined punishment, which includes fine of $10,000 and five years in jail. In the statement, the police also revealed that they will not spare prostitution rackets that conduct their operations via online.

This is not the first time that Singapore Police are arresting women for offering sexual services. On December 14, Police arrested eleven women for running unlicensed massage parlours at Jalan Bukit Merah, Tanjong Pagar, and South Bridge Road. The massage parlours they worked were illegal and were actually brothels in disguise.

From December 18-22, the police also arrested 23 women who indulged in prostitution along Jalan Besar Road, Rangoon Road, Sing Joo Walk, Race Course Lane, Beach Road, Stamford Road, Cross Street and Kampong Bahru Road.

This article was first published on December 30, 2017
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