By W.E. Carter
A few month back I started to look deeper in to the so call Designated Red Light Area (DRL’s) in Singapore to see what I could find about how it is set up, what the law says and how the area are identified. In Geylang the brothels sit side be side to regular families’ homes with the only difference being the red numbers on the brothels houses. I wanted to find out if there was a limited on the number of brothels, how the sex workers got there working permits, how long they were allowed to stay in Singapore, are the prices set by the government and what agency handled the medical check up for the girls.
So I started to check the laws of Singapore to see if I could find the information there since everyone knows that if you visit a brother to have sex you will not be arrested or hassled by the police that may be right outside the brothel picking up the street walkers in the area since that is illegal.
The laws says:
Persons living on or trading in prostitution 146. —(1) Any person who knowingly lives wholly or in part on the earnings of the prostitution of another person shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years and shall also be liable to a fine not exceeding $10,000.
(2) Any male person who is convicted of a second or subsequent offence under this section shall, in addition to any term of imprisonment imposed in respect of such offence, be liable to caning.
(3) Where any person is proved to live with or be habitually in the company of any prostitute or is proved to have exercised control, direction or influence over the movements of any prostitute in such a manner as to show that the person is aiding, abetting or compelling her prostitution with any other person or generally, the person shall, in the absence of proof to the contrary, be deemed to be knowingly living on the earnings of prostitution.
After reading this it make it pretty clear that prostitution anywhere is illegal and that the operators of the brothers are labile under section 148 listed next, since the girls are not allowed to leave the premises with customers.
Suppression of brothels 148. —(1) Any person who keeps, manages or assists in the management of a brothel shall be guilty of an offence under this section.
(2) Any person who is the tenant, lessee, occupier or person in charge of any place which is used as a brothel shall, unless he proves that he has no knowledge that the place is used as a brothel, be guilty of an offence under this section.
(3) Any person who being the tenant, lessee, occupier or person in charge of any place lets such place or any part thereof shall notwithstanding such letting be guilty of an offence under subsection (2) if the place or any part thereof is used as a brothel, unless he proves that he has no knowledge that the place or any part thereof is used as a brothel.
(4) Any person who being the owner of any place or the agent of that owner lets the same or any part thereof with the knowledge that the place or some part thereof is to be used as a brothel or is wilfully a party to the continued use of the place or any part thereof as a brothel shall, notwithstanding such letting, be guilty of an offence under this section.
(5) Any person who is guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $3,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both and, in the case of a second or subsequent conviction, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or to both.
(6) In any proceedings under this Part, any evidence given by any police officer not below the rank of sergeant that any place has been used as a brothel or a place of assignation shall, until the contrary is proved, be deemed to be sufficient evidence of the fact.
After days of searching for the information I began to contact the government agencies for the information. I started with the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and found nothing on their web site so I called in but was put on terminal hold so I e-mailed my question in never to receive a response. Next I contacted the police force of Singapore and again no response. My inquiry was then forwarded to several different people that I was told may be able to help me and still nothing and the health department was of no help either.
Geylang is different then the other DRL’s because it cover a large area unlike the other locations which are mostly one street out of the way of everything and easy to control. Geylang reaches from Lorong 4all the way to Lorong 36 between Geylang Road and Guillemard Road which is a large area with the largest concentration of the action taking place between Lorong 4 and Lorong 24.
Authority of courts to issue arrest and search warrants 152. If any court has reason to believe that any place is used by a woman or girl for the purpose of prostitution and that any other person residing in or frequenting the house is living wholly or in part on the immoral earnings of that woman or girl, the court may issue a warrant authorizing the Director or any public officer nominated by the Minister or any police officer not below the rank of sergeant to enter and search the place and to arrest such person.
Woman or girl below the age of 21 used or trained for immoral purposes, etc.
159. —(1) If the Director has reasonable cause to believe that any woman or girl below the age of 21 years is being trained or used for immoral purposes or lives in or frequents any brothel or is habitually in the company of prostitutes or brothel keepers or procuresses or persons employed or living in brothels or persons directly interested in the business carried on in brothels or by prostitutes, the Director may by warrant under his hand order the woman or girl to be removed to a place of safety and there temporarily detained until an inquiry has been held by him.
(2) If the Director after holding such inquiry is satisfied that the woman or girl comes within subsection (1), he may, by warrant under his hand, order her to be detained in a place of safety.
So how are these controlled? I have heard from the people that live here that Geylang was always an area to find prostitutes going back many years. If you have ever seen the video “Sex in Asia” a documentary it talks about the ally-ways located between Lorong 6 and 20. Walking down the allies after seeing the video you can still see many of the same building. Today the girls will not flash you their breast like they do in the movie but the effect is the same trust me.
In 1983 Singapore clamped down on the sex workers on the streets and the censors hit the stores getting ride of all material showing pictures semi-nude or nude pictures and topless dancing was also banded along with any other form of sexual driven dancing.
So the question about the brothers is this; are they allowed because it is something that you cannot stop, so try to control it in some way? This could be the case, but then how are they controlled? Can anyone open a brother in the DRL’s? I don’t know that either. Right now the girls working in the area are all Malays and Thais, is the market open to any woman that wants to work as a prostitute regardless of where she is from, I can’t find this information out also which I have asked.
