Prostitution in Singapore is legal, but various
prostitution-related activities are not. This includes public
solicitation, living on the earnings of a prostitute and
maintaining a brothel. In practice, police unofficially tolerates
and monitors a limited number of brothels. Prostitutes in such
establishments are required to undergo periodic health checks and
must carry a health card. Apart from these regulated brothels,
commercial sex workers can be found in many "massage" or "spa"
establishments. Some massage parlours, including
tui na outlets, employ scantily clad women from
mainland China and offer massages as a pretext for sexual services.
These activities are illegal, and the operators of such massage
establishments risk jail if exposed by anti-vice police raids. Yet,
virtually everyone who visits such establishments is fully aware of
the sexual services provided within, and are there precisely
because of it.
The main red-light district in Singapore
is in Geylang.
Orchard Towers
, nicknamed the "Four Floors Of Whores", is a
shopping centre frequented by prostitutes. Some bars in
Duxton Hill also offer sexual
services.
Under current laws, having sex with women under 16 is considered
statutory rape, punishable by up to
five years in jail and a fine of
S$10,000 (
US$6,900).
Books
Singapore's sex trade was explored in the 2004 book
Invisible
Trade: High-class Sex for Sale in Singapore by Singaporean
author Gerrie Lim. A sequel to this book was released in 2008 by
the publisher
Monsoon Books.
There is
another book Singapore Sex Guide 2009 written by a
Hong
Kong
-born Singapore Permanent Resident Roger Tan which is
sold only through his blog site where he
used to narrate his experiences which had now become the contents
of his book.
Law
Commercial sex with underaged persons
Any person who obtains for consideration the sexual services of a
person under 18 years of age (in other words, has commercial sex
with such a person) commits an offence and may be punished with
imprisonment of up to seven years or a fine or both. The term
sexual services is defined to mean sexual services
involving sexual penetration of the vagina or anus of a person by a
part of another person's body other than the penis or by anything
else, or penetration of the vagina, anus or mouth of a person by a
man's penis. It is also an offence for a person to communicate with
another person for the purpose of having commercial sex with a
person under 18. These offences apply to acts that take place in as
well as outside Singapore.
It is a crime for a person to:
- make or organize any travel arrangements for or on behalf of
any other person with the intention of facilitating the commission
by that other person of an offence under section 376C (that is,
offences relating to commercial sex with a minor under 18 outside
Singapore), whether or not such an offence is actually committed by
that other person;
- transport any other person to a place outside Singapore with
the intention of facilitating the commission by that other person
of an offence under section 376C, whether or not such an offence is
actually committed by that other person; or
- print, publish or distribute any information that is intended
to promote conduct that would constitute an offence under section
376C, or to assist any other person to engage in such conduct.
A person who is guilty of the offence may be punished with
imprisonment of up to ten years, or a fine, or both.
Non-commercial sex with underaged persons
According to section 376A of the
Penal Code, any person (A) who:
- penetrates, with A's penis, the vagina, anus or mouth, as the
case may be, of a person under 16 years of age (B);
- sexually penetrates, with a part of A's body (other than A's
penis) or anything else, the vagina or anus, as the case may be, of
a person under 16 (B);
- causes a man under 16 (B) to penetrate, with B's penis, the
vagina, anus or mouth, as the case may be, of another person
including A; or
- causes a person under 16 (B) to sexually penetrate, with a part
of B's body (other than B's penis) or anything else, the vagina or
anus, as the case may be, of any person including A or B,
with or without B's consent, shall be guilty of an offence. In
general, the penalty is imprisonment of up to ten years, or a fine,
or both. However, if the offence is committed against a person (B)
who is under 14, the perpetrator shall be punished with
imprisonment which may extend to 20 years, and shall also be liable
to fine or to caning.
Under the
Women's
Charter, it is a criminal offence for a man to have carnal
connection with any girl below the age of 16 years unless he is
married to the girl. This is a less serious offence than section
376A of the Penal Code as the maximum penalty is imprisonment not
exceeding five years and a fine not exceeding $10,000. If the man
was below 21 years of age at the time of the alleged offence, it is
a valid
defence to a
charge that he had a reasonable mistaken
belief that the girl was of or above 16. However, he cannot rely on
this defence if he has previously been charged in court with the
same offence, or offences under sections 376A, 376B, 376C or 376E
of the Penal Code, or section 7 of the Children and Young Persons
Act.
Pimping
It is a criminal offence to:
- sell, let for hire or otherwise dispose of or buy or hire or
otherwise obtain possession of any woman or girl with intent that
she shall be employed or used for the purpose of prostitution
either within or without Singapore, or knowing or having reason to
believe that she will be so employed or used;
- procure any woman or girl to have either within or without
Singapore carnal connection except by way of marriage with any male
person or for the purpose of prostitution either within or without
Singapore;
- by threats or intimidation procure any woman or girl to have
carnal connection except by way of marriage with any male person
either within or without Singapore;
- bring into Singapore, receive or harbour any woman or girl
knowing or having reason to believe that she has been procured for
the purpose of having carnal connection except by way of marriage
with any male person or for the purpose of prostitution either
within or without Singapore and with intent to aid such
purpose;
- knowing or having reason to believe that any woman or girl has
been procured by threats or intimidation for the purpose of having
carnal connection except by way of marriage with any male person,
either within or without Singapore, to receive or harbour her with
intent to aid such purpose;
- knowing or having reason to believe that any woman or girl has
been brought into Singapore in breach of section 142 of the Women's
Charter or has been sold or purchased in breach of section
140(1)(a), to receive or harbour her with intent that she may be
employed or used for the purpose of prostitution either within or
without Singapore;
- detain any woman or girl against her will on any premises with
the intention that she shall have carnal connection except by way
of marriage with any male person, or detain any woman or girl
against her will in a brothel;
- detain any woman or girl in any place against her will with
intent that she may be employed or used for the purpose of
prostitution or for any unlawful or immoral purpose; or
- attempt to do any of the above acts.
The penalty is imprisonment not exceeding five years and a fine not
exceeding $10,000. A male person who is convicted of a second or
subsequent offence under the first six offences listed above is
liable to be
caned in addition
to being imprisoned.
Trafficking in women and girls
See
Human trafficking in
Singapore.
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