Singapore cracks down on ‘pop-up’ brothels in rented flats amid spike in online prostitution
- Under new laws passed on Monday, authorities can penalise homeowners whose tenants use the premises for prostitution-related activities
- The city state is seeing a growing trend in online prostitution, with seven in 10 foreign females arrested between 2015 and last year for hawking their sexual services online providing these in residential estates
Singapore’s parliament on Monday passed a law designed to crack down on “pop-up brothels” appearing in rented flats in the Singapore heartlands, some of them run by foreign vice syndicates using websites and apps.
Three key changes were made in the amendments to the Women’s Charter, which protects and advances the rights of women and girls in Singapore.
The onus will now be placed on homeowners and tenants who let or sublet their properties to conduct identity checks, such as face-to-face interviews, on potential tenants or subtenants to ensure they know the type of people moving in.
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The changes will also allow police to take criminal action against people who run vice activities in Singapore while based overseas, or use websites hosted overseas to provide sexual services in Singapore.
There will also be tougher penalties for vice activities, and even harsher penalties for repeat offences. For example, an owner whose property is used as a brothel will be jailed for up to five years, or fined up to S$100,000 (US$73,660), or both – up from a maximum three-year jail term or S$3,000 fine, or both. For a second and subsequent offence, the maximum jail term is now seven years, up from five years, and the maximum fine is S$150,000, up from S$10,000.
Sun Xueling, the senior parliamentary secretary for home affairs, on Monday cited figures showing growing trends in prostitution services provided in residential areas. Between 2015 and 2018, seven in 10 foreign females who were arrested for advertising their sexual services online were found to be providing their services in residential estates.
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In 2015, only 16 per cent of women arrested for vice used an online platform but by last year that figure rose to 55 per cent last year, she said.
Some MPs raised concerns about the feasibility of conducting checks on tenants or subtenants, while others asked whether safe reporting channels could be provided for sex workers to ensure they can report on vice syndicates without fear of prosecution.
Several MPs questioned the feasibility of expecting homeowners and tenants to conduct identity checks on people leasing or subletting their premises.
We do have grave concerns that by criminalising sex, we drive clients and sex workers underground
Homeowners and tenants could now be jailed for a first-time offence if they cannot prove they performed “reasonable diligence” in screening tenants or subtenants engaged in vice offences. Conducting “reasonable diligence” includes face-to-face interviews and checking the identity card, passport or work permit of potential tenants.
Sun stressed that homeowners and tenants would not be liable for an offence even if their unit is later used as a brothel, provided they did what was “reasonably possible” to ascertain that the premise was not going to be used as one. However, the tenant or occupier could be prosecuted for an offence of keeping, managing or assisting in the management of a brothel, she said.
Sun added that even when a tenant is not directly managing or keeping the brothel, they “cannot escape criminal liability” unless they can show that they had no knowledge that their premises was being used as a brothel, and that they could not, with reasonable diligence, have ascertained that their premises was being used as one.
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Describing the new laws as “a balanced approach”, Sun said that they would make it harder for tenants or occupants to “turn a blind eye” to vice activities on their premises.
While acknowledging the benefits of allowing the authorities to take action against vice syndicates operating from overseas, other MPs asked how Singaporean authorities intended do so.
Sun said that with the amendments, the police would be able to arrest offenders when they entered Singapore, even if they were overseas at the time of offence. She added that authorities could also seek the assistance of their foreign counterparts if the perpetrators are based in a country with which Singapore has a mutual extradition treaty.
Several MPs suggested setting up channels for sex workers to report prostitution syndicates without fear of prosecution. They also called on the authorities to provide more support to help sex workers leave the trade.
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Anthea Ong asked if the Ministry of Home Affairs could provide sex workers who were abused by their pimps with conditional immunity from charges such as soliciting and conditional protection from blacklisting.
Sun indicated the government has various policies in place to help sex workers find different employment and would “actively” look into helping such workers.
Responding to calls to abolish prostitution, Sun said experiences of other countries had been mixed, and there was no consensus on whether laws to criminalise paid sex reduced the demand for sex.
“We do have grave concerns that by criminalising sex, we drive clients and sex workers underground and make it harder for sex workers to protect themselves, or for social workers to reach them,” she said.
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