A woman who was arrested in an HDB flat during a raid on an illegal brothel in Photo: Kamini Devadass. More understanding of sex work in Singapore is needed to ensure women and girls are not exploited, NGOs and academics added.
Among the amendments, harsher penalties for crimes like trafficking and exploiting children for sex were proposed. People who trick women or girls to rope them into prostitution will also face a similar punishment. The amendments do not only cover penalties - new definitions for brothels and extra-territorial powers to combat online vice were also tabled. These activities include advertising prostitution and living off the earnings of prostitution. The latest changes to the Charter were introduced on the same day a pimp Lee Si Hong pleaded guilty to bringing nine Thai women into Singapore for sex work.
The women were made to work for and-a-half hours a day, servicing 26 to 28 customers without receiving payment. Starting at The amendments are to be welcomed but there is scope for more to be done, said Mr Michael Chiam, executive director at Hagar, an organisation which helps women and children who have endured trauma, including slavery, human rights abuse and human trafficking.
If there are not protections in place for the trafficked person offering a safe-house placement, etc then it is difficult to get them involved in the case. This is made harder if they are overseas. These women and girls are often tricked into coming to Singapore with promises of a better life after paying hefty amounts of money to middlemen back home. They are then forced into sex work after reaching Singapore and not given the necessary work passes to stay in Singapore legally.
The Ministry of Home Affairs MHA said the new extra-territorial powers will help authorities deal with people who run overseas businesses offering sexual services in Singapore.
