It has been reported that the Singapore Police Force arrested 36 suspects in HDB flats in an island-wide anti-vice operation on Tuesday and Wednesday this week.
The HDB flats which the suspects were arrested in, are suspected to be operating as brothels.
The arrested, 2 men and 34 women aged between 21 and 48, were allegedly involved in vice-related activities in residential areas, the police said in a statement on Thursday.
The police added that police officers from the Ang Mo Kio Division, Jurong Division and Criminal Investigation Department (CID) raided multiple locations, including Woodlands, Sembawang, Sengkang, Jurong West, Yishun, Chinatown and River Valley, on Tuesday and Wednesday.
A resident living beside one of such suspected brothels in Woodlands reportedly said she became suspicious after strange men pacing up and down while looking at their mobile phones on the common corridor. The resident, who has young children, said she was shocked such things were going on just next door to them.
“It’s disgusting and I’m grossed out. I feel unsafe, especially for my kids. I don’t want such people anywhere near them,”
Earlier in January this year, a website claiming to be “Lion City’s No. 1 Beauties” along with a database of more than 1500 ‘pretty women was exposed as a cover for prostitution, with bases covering northern, eastern, western and central districts in HDB heartlands.
The Chinese media reported that the phenomenon of HDB flats turning into brothels is occurring at an alarming rate and raising deep concerns.
According to those familiar with the special services of this website, these women are very cautious. They will wait till customers arrive at the ground floor of the HDB block and observe through the windows. Only when they are sure that the customers are ordinary ‘Joes’, then they will give further instructions for the customers to go to their exact unit.
An anonymous informant explained that in order to avoid undue attentions, these women would stay only in the upper floors and rent 4 or 5-room HDB units.
“Usually they would choose near to the MRT stations for convenience; otherwise near to factory areas for cheaper rents and regular customers base,” the informant said.
