An anti-vice raid conducted in Woodlands in October Between and , seven in 10 foreign females who were arrested for hawking their sexual services online were found to be providing their services in residential estates. They will:. Place the onus on homeowners and tenants who let or sublet their properties to conduct identity checks, such as face-to-face interviews, on potential tenants or sub-tenants to ensure they know the type of people who are moving in. Allow the police to take criminal action against those who run vice activities in Singapore while based overseas, or those who use websites hosted overseas to provide sexual services in Singapore.
Impose tougher penalties on vice activities, and even harsher penalties for repeat offences. Speaking in Parliament on Monday, Ms Sun Xueling, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Home Affairs, cited numbers to show growing trends in prostitution services provided in residential areas. In , only 16 per cent of women arrested for vice used an online platform, but that figure had shot up to 55 per cent last year, she said.
However, some raised concerns on the feasibility of conducting checks on tenants or sub-tenants, while others asked if safe reporting channels could be provided for sex workers here to ensure that 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 those to whom they are leasing or subletting their premises.
However, the tenant or occupier could be prosecuted for an offence of keeping, managing or assisting in the management of a brothel, she said. On whether homeowners such as the elderly could rely on property agents to conduct identity checks on their behalf, Ms Sun said that they could do so. However property owners are ultimately responsible for the leasing of their property and should ensure that the checks are satisfactory before entering into a lease agreement, she said. Ms Sun said that with the amendments, the police will be able to arrest offenders when they enter Singapore, even if they were overseas at the time of offence.
She added that the authorities here 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. Even if Singapore does not have a formal reciprocal agreement with other countries, Ms Sun said that the Singapore Police Force could conduct joint enforcement operations with their foreign counterparts or work with them to share relevant information.
