SINGAPORE: Forty-five women and four men have been arrested for various offences including vice-related activities and cheating during a four-day operation involving the police, Singapore Civil Defence Force, Central Narcotics Bureau and Singapore Customs.
The operation, which covered locations in western Singapore including Bukit Batok, Chua Chu Kang, Jurong West and Woodlands, took place between Dec 5 and Dec 8, the police said in a news release on Saturday (Dec 9).
Those arrested were between 23 and 48 years old.
During the operation, 37 women were arrested for suspected involvement in vice-related activities at residential units and forested areas.
Another four men and eight women were arrested for suspected involvement in various offences such as cheating, being members of unlawful societies, immigration and employment-related offences.
In addition, three public entertainment outlets were found to have flouted regulations under the Public Entertainment Act, said police.
Two of these outlets were also found to have breached fire safety rules and regulations.
Twenty-six people were also caught with duty-unpaid cigarettes and were issued fines ranging from S$500 to S$2,400.
Investigations against all suspects are ongoing.
Forty-nine people were arrested in the four-day operation. (Photo: Kamini Devadass)
3 WOMEN ARRESTED AFTER RAID ON ILLEGAL BROTHEL IN JURONG WEST
Channel NewsAsia followed police on one of the operation’s raids on an illegal brothel in an HDB flat at Jurong West Street 74 on Friday.
Three women, all Chinese nationals, were arrested for their alleged involvement in operating the brothel and advertising their services online.
“HDB brothels rely on the Internet to advertise their services. A customer will often go online to search for these brothels,” said Deputy Assistant Commissioner Julian Chee, the commander (covering) of Jurong Police Division.
“HDB heartlands are the very bedrock, foundation of where we stay – it’s where 80 per cent of Singaporeans stay,” he said. “And we want … our population to feel safe. That’s why we take a very harsh stance against brothels in HDB.”
Three women were arrested after police raided a suspected illegal brothel in Jurong West. (Photo: Kamini Devadass)
Over the past five years, police have arrested 790 people for abetting vice activities such as operating illegal brothels, Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmugam said last month in a written reply to a Parliamentary question. About 12 per cent of these offenders were involved in illegal brothels in HDB flats.
“Police will investigate these cases, and we’ll investigate the home owners as well,” said Deputy Assistant Commissioner Chee. “If the home owners are complicit in the vice activities, they will be prosecuted under the Women’s Charter.”
An offender convicted of managing a brothel under the Women’s Charter could be jailed for up to five years, fined up to S$10,000, or both.
