SINGAPORE : Residents in Geylang complain regularly that prostitutes solicit for clients openly on the streets, but recently there has been another aspect to this problem that may be even more worrying for parents.
Students as young as 15 have been spotted checking out the streetwalkers for themselves.
The heart of Geylang, between Lorongs 12 and 14, is where many prostitutes are known to ply their trade.
But apparently, their activities aren't just targeted at adult men. Residents say some are servicing a much younger clientele.
At 4 o'clock in the afternoon, the women have already hit the street.
This is also the time some teenage boys get off school.
In February this year, one Geylang resident was shocked by what she witnessed while on her way to a nearby shop.
Said Tay Mui Lan, "I noticed that there were a group of school boys in school uniform and one of them started to approach one of the prostitutes and I saw them follow the prostitute into a small hotel.
"They told me quite unwittingly that they were from a school in Bedok. I was quite shocked by it. They were in white full length so I should think they were about 15, 16 or 17 at the most."
A check with the MP for the area, Dr Lee Boon Yang, showed no complaints had been made about teenage boys patronising prostitutes here.
Could this have been a one-off incident? No, says a grassroots activist here who thinks this is a growing trend.
Asked if he has youngsters go into hotels to visit the girls, Tommy Choo, ex-chairman of the Wing Fong Mansion Residents Committee, said, "Definitely so, there's no hiding that, it's so obvious; anybody passing by will be able to see that quite clearly. I think probably they are secondary school children ... They look pretty young; you can tell by the visual look that they are very, very young and not working young adults, definitely school children."
Surely, the brothels with their self-imposed "no under-18 rule" would not admit them?
But this reporter recorded the following conversation with a brothel operator:
Q: "I have a brother who is 15 years old, can he try out (the women)?"
A: "Yes, if he wants, he can try. We just close one eye."
Q: "So it doesn't matter however young you are?"
A: "Yes."
Are lax brothels to blame? Or is it the fault of the curious teens themselves, or the prostitutes who have become more aggressive in getting clients?
Some teenage boys living here told Channel NewsAsia they were propositioned several times by the women while on their way home from school and still in their school uniform.
One of the boys said a man once asked if him he could introduce some girls to him.
The boys refused to appear on TV for this story, as they did not want to draw any attention to themselves.
Last year, police arrested 4,180 street prostitutes in Geylang alone, and regular anti-vice operations are carried out.
But some homeowners here want even more done.
Late last month, they began collecting signatures to petition the government to clean up the place.
They also want police cameras installed on the even-numbered streets, after the presence of the cameras on the odd-numbered streets led to fewer streetwalkers there.
For some of them, if these cameras do not deter the women, perhaps it may deter the teenage boys. - CNA /ct
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