Singapore } Men Prostitution is a Common as Girl's
From the front, the first-storey unit in Ang Mo Kio looks like any other neighbourhood store.
The shop space has been divided into two - with one side selling stationery and the other mobile phone accessories.
Children were playing in front of the unit that morning and housewives were hurrying home with their groceries.
Nobody seemed to have any idea that above the shop, on the second storey, is a flat that is operating as a sleazy massage parlour.
Inside, a paying customer can opt for a "sensual" massage with sex extras thrown in for additional fees.
What makes this place stand out from similar establishments in red light districts like Geylang is not just its location in the heartland.
The people offering the sex services here are men.
Their clients are also men.
The young men working there usually solicit their services on an online gay dating portal.
The New Paper checked out the website last month and noticed that most of the men offering "sensual" massage on the portal are Indonesians.
All of them hinted that they also offered sexual services.
They posted their mobile phone numbers on online advertisements, which often showed them in the nude.
Posing as an interested customer, this reporter texted two of the men.
They replied within minutes.
One of them, Budi (not his real name), agreed to meet me in the Ang Mo Kio flat.
He declined to reveal the unit number and told me to text him when I arrived at the block of flats.
When I did so, I was directed to the back of the shop, where Budi was waiting by the door with a huge smile.
After telling me to hurry inside, he locked the door and directed me up a narrow flight of stairs to the second storey.
The unit upstairs was dark and cramped.
A large curtain acted as a partition in the living room and I could hear a group of young men chatting in Indonesian on the other side of the heavy fabric.
Budi ushered me into a bedroom and offered me an oil massage, with sex on the menu as well if I was willing to pay.
He added that five other Indonesian men were working there that day.
Before the transaction could go through, I gave an excuse and left.
A few days later, I met another Indonesian man, Agus (not his real name), who was operating from a fifth-storey unit in Yishun.
Like the Ang Mo Kio flat, it appeared nondescript on the outside.
The only giveaway to what went on inside was the number of towels hung outside to dry.
Agus greeted me at the front door of the dimly-lit flat and directed me into a bedroom.
I heard some men chatting in Indonesian on the other side of a closed kitchen door.
When I asked, Agus said four other Indonesian men were on duty that day.
Like Budi, Agus offered an oil massage as well as sex.
Again, I made my excuse and left.
When TNP later staked out the Ang Mo Kio unit, men were seen being ushered in by other young men.
Some "visitors" left after 15 minutes and others were inside for an hour.
Similar activity was also seen at the Yishun unit.
Residents approached by TNP were unaware of the sexual goings-on taking place under their noses.
Lawyer Sunil Sudheesan said that because these sex workers offer their services to other men, they could be committing offences under Section 377A of the Penal Code, which criminalises such acts.
Their clients could also be charged with the offence.
Those convicted can be jailed up to two years.
The home owners could also get into trouble.
Mr Sudheesan said the HDB can take back the flats if they are used for commercial purposes which are not sanctioned.
By soliciting their massage services online, the Indonesian men could be committing offences under the Massage Establishment Act, another lawyer, Ms Gloria James-Civetta, said.
This is because it is an offence to publish or display advertisements for unlicensed massage establishments.
Anyone convicted of this can be fined up to $1,000.
He can be further fined up to $50 a day if he continues to commit the offence after conviction.
Ms James-Civetta said the men could be committing employment and immigration offences if they did not have work permits or are working while here on social visit passes.
Foreigners caught working without valid work passes can be jailed up to a year and fined up to $5,000.
Under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, those who employ foreign workers without valid work passes can be jailed up to a year and fined up to $15,000.
This article was first published in The New Paper.
Comments