A 25-year-old man was sentenced to a year's jail and fined S$4,000 for running an online vice syndicate to recruit Japanese women for prostitution in Singapore.
Goh Boon Hong, a Malaysian man, pleaded guilty to five charges on June 30, including harboring women for the purpose of prostitution and living on prostitution earnings.
In August 2024, a man by the name of Wong Chi San recruited Goh to join the syndicate.
At first, Goh was paid 10 per cent of the proceeds from prostitution. Later on, this was raised to 20 per cent.
Following Wong's arrest in January 2025, Goh assumed control of the syndicate's activities. Court documents contained no information about Wong's case.
That month, Goh invited a 26-year-old Japanese woman, identified as A1 in court documents, to engage in prostitution in Singapore from February to March.
A1 invited her Japanese friend A2, who is 27 years old, and A2 accepted.
A1 provided sexual services to 44 customers over nine days at the Marina Bay Sands hotel. She earned S$14,800 from them and was paid 1.24 million yen (S$10,900) by Goh.
A2 made S$11,100 by serving 37 customers. She received 830,000 yen from Goh.
The hotel rooms were reserved by Goh's accomplice, Zhang Kai, a Chinese national.
Goh paid Zhang S$50 per room per day to acquire the hotel rooms, on top of the room fees.
Additionally, Zhang would assist Goh in installing massage gels and inflatable beds in the hotel rooms' restrooms.
Goh initially gave Zhang $500 for every toilet setup. After Zhang voiced his concerns about the dangers of engaging in these prostitution activities, this was later raised to S$600.
In addition, Goh retained the remaining proceeds from the prostitution and paid Zhang S$2,100 for his services during the nine-day period.
When police carried out an anti-vice operation at Marina Bay Sands on March 7, the offenses were discovered, and Goh was taken into custody.
Zhang's pre-trial conference is scheduled for July 17; his case is still pending.
A conviction for harboring a woman for prostitution carries a maximum sentence of seven years in prison and a maximum fine of S$100,000.
