Underage hooker exposes the grime beneath
Lion City's gleam
A seamy
scandal involving a sexy underage prostitute has become the talk of Singapore.
On Monday, 44 men were charged with “commercial sex with a minor under 18,” a
relatively recent law which prohibits men from engaging the services of an
underage prostitute.
While
the salacious allegations may seem incongruous, coming from a nation best known
for its graffiti-free streets, strict laws and squeaky clean image, the story
has exposed Singapore’s wild but under-reported sexual history. It is a history
that by and large the government prefers to ignore publicly, instead
emphasizing family tourism to its vast Sentosa complex.
However,
the city-state has its raunchy side, an underworld teeming with prostitution
that the police attempt to regulate carefully. The government licenses brothels
such as those in the Geylang neighborhood. The nightclub-packed retail section
of the Orchard Towers office building is known as “Four Floors of Whores.” There
are more than 60 "escort services" listed in the Singapore telephone
directory. Although Bugis Street, known during the colonial era as a promenade
for transsexual hookers, has been redeveloped into an imitation of its previous
self, the trade migrated to Changi Village and remains there.
While
the local age of consent is 16, the age for commercial sexual transactions –
prostitution is legal in Singapore -- was raised in 2007 by two additional
years. The government acknowledged at the time that there was little need for
the new law.
“Although
there is no evidence to suggest that we have a problem with 16- and
17-year-olds engaging in commercial sex in Singapore, we decided to set the age
of protection at 18 years so as to protect a higher proportion of minors,” said
senior home affairs minister Ho Peng Kee on the floor of Parliament when the
bill was introduced. “Young persons, because they are immature and vulnerable
and can be exploited therefore, should be protected from providing sexual
services.”
The
young woman at the center of the controversy has been identified on Singaporean
web sites as a now-19-year-old polytechnic student, Steph Thia Hwee Koon, who
worked under the name Chantelle. The debate is whether she can accurately be
described as vulnerable, exploited or in any way a victim.
The
young woman’s actions, as described in court documents and media reports, have
been ripe fodder for gossip. She charged between S$400 and S$650 (US$320 to
US$520) per assignation. On Oct. 10, 2010, she met with four clients within
three hours. The service’s website described her as “18 year-old. Singapore
Chinese student and part time model. 1.60m tall, 48kg. Cup C. Bubbly girl. New
to escort trade.”
The
agency’s alleged ringleader, 39-year-old Tang Boon Thiew, was charged late last
year with 34 counts of living off the earnings of prostitutes and at least one
count of having sex with an underage employee, according to media reports. He
reportedly paid one of his recruits S$50 (US$40) to test the quality of her
services.
This
week’s charges – in addition to the 44 men on Monday, four more were named
Tuesday and additional prosecutions are expected -- against the johns appear to
have originated when Tang or the young woman traded a diary and cell phone records
to authorities in exchange for lenient treatment. There is currently no
indication that the woman has been charged with a crime, an issue that rankles
some of the defense lawyers.
“Who
are they trying to protect?” asked defense counsel Subhas Anandan (in a
televised quote which was later edited out of the state-controlled media). “As
far as I’m concerned this girl doesn’t need any protection. She’s a hardcore
prostitute who got so many people into trouble.”
While
prosecutors originally refused to divulge the woman’s name, the
Attorney-General’s Chambers announced late Wednesday that it would identify her
in amended charging documents but would seek a gag order, which has since been
granted , prohibiting the dissemination of her name. Two mid-level members of
the ruling People’s Action Party have publicly requested that the woman not be
identified, and the government press has focused its coverage on the men while
largely ignoring the girl.
Meanwhile,
in addition to the fresh reports identifying Steph Thia Hwee Koon as the young
woman, internet postings from 2010 described her by name as engaging in
underage prostitution at the rates, circumstances and time periods described by
prosecutors. Photos in which her face has not been obscured and which purport to
match cached copies of the now-deactivated escort site (www.theviemodels.com)
have appeared on the Singaporean Internet, particularly the Eat Drink Man Woman
forum of the Hardware Zone tech site. As of late Thursday night, multiple
internet sites were identifying the woman and posting the alleged photos.
The men
caught up in the scandal come from a broad swath of Singaporean society. The
alleged patrons include a low-level PAP organizer, a school principal, a member
of the Shaw Brothers motion picture family – one of Singapore’s most
distinguished – as well as a police officer and a former UBS banker.
“There
is no defense unless doubt can be raised about whether or not the sex took
place. The burden is on the man to satisfy that she is 18 by asking for a
passport or identity papers,” said Chia Boon Teck, a local attorney.
While
the relevant Penal Code statute for the johns provides for criminal sanctions
ranging from a fine to seven years of imprisonment, Chia said “nine months plus
or minus is the benchmark we are looking at.” In the 2009 case of Tan Chye Hin
v. Public Prosecutor, the Singaporean High Court affirmed a sentence of nine
months, noting that “a custodial sentence should be the norm in order to
sufficiently deter such behavior and to reflect the seriousness of such
offenses.” A fine and no imprisonment would be appropriate when the woman was
just under 18 and presented convincing forged identity documents to the
customer, the court noted.
Paul
Karl Lukacs
Asian
Sentinel
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