VZCZCXRO8997
RR RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHGP #0938/01 0821001
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 231001Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY SINGAPORE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9288
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 SINGAPORE 000938 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR G/TIP 
STATE FOR INL/HSTC 
STATE PASS AID 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCRM PHUM KWMN ELAB SMIG ASEC KFRD PREF SN
SUBJECT: SINGAPORE TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS UPDATE 
 
REF: A. SINGAPORE 632 
 
     ¶B. SINGAPORE 631 
     ¶C. SINGAPORE 630 
     ¶D. STATE 3836 
     ¶E. SINGAPORE 470 
     ¶F. SINGAPORE 139 
     ¶G. 05 SINGAPORE 3614 
 
¶1. Summary: GOS officials from the Ministries of Home 
Affairs; Manpower; Community Development, Youth and Sports; 
and Foreign Affairs met with the E/P Counselor and Embassy 
officers on March 17 to discuss Singapore's 2005 trafficking 
situation and enforcement efforts.  The GOS provided updated 
statistics on its law enforcement efforts related to 
trafficking, explained new measures aimed at combating maid 
abuse, and detailed the services available to victims in 
Singapore.  This cable provides important information not 
available when we filed our TIP submission (Refs A, B, C) and 
should be considered as an addition to that report.  End 
Summary. 
 
2005 Law Enforcement Statistics 
------------------------------- 
 
¶2. In 2005, Singapore detained 3,220 foreign sex workers, 
down significantly from 5,239 sex workers detained in 2004, 
according to police statistics.  Of the sex workers detained, 
48, or 1.5 percent, were under 18 years of age (up from 35 in 
2004).  Police were able to identify 13 pimps or vice 
abettors who were involved in the underage girls' 
prostitution: 8 were prosecuted in court, two were issued 
warnings, and one investigation is still ongoing. 
 
¶3.  Of these 3,220 women, 35 alleged that they were forced, 
intimidated or tricked into prostitution (up from 16 in 
2004).  Seven victims did not remain in contact with the 
police to pursue investigations.  On the remaining 28 cases, 
police were not able to make cases for any trafficking 
specific charges, but the government was able to successfully 
prosecute eight people under related charges under the 
Women's Charter and Immigration Act.  For example, in a case 
involving three Uzbekistani prostitutes, police charged and 
convicted ten persons involved in their prostitution -- 
including a private security guard for their hotel who was 
convicted of corruption and sentenced to four months in jail 
for turning a blind eye to vice activities.  Three cases 
remain under investigation.  In addition, 118 persons were 
arrested and 76 were prosecuted for pimping or vice-abetting. 
 Police investigated all of these 118 persons to ensure that 
the sex-workers they worked with were not forced or coerced. 
 
¶4. Police attributed the drop in the number of prostitutes 
detained to police enforcement actions aimed at discouraging 
the sex trade.  (Note: NGOs working on trafficking and vice 
issues have independently told us that Singapore Police and 
Immigration officials have been working closely with the 
local community to improve their monitoring of the sex trade 
and enforcement of anti-vice laws, and that these efforts 
have had a significant impact on the sex trade here.  (Ref C, 
sections B and F.) End Note.) Officials from the Police 
Criminal Investigative Department said that the Anti-Vice 
Branch, a unit dedicated to fighting organized crime in the 
vice trade, has stepped up its efforts to enforce anti-vice 
statutes.  The AVB, looking for evidence of organized 
vice-syndicates operating in Singapore, conducted 
approximately two major operations per month and about 800 
checks or raids on red-light districts and "entertainment 
establishments" in 2005.  In addition, other branches of the 
police, such as anti-gang units and local police patrols, 
also routinely do checks or raids in these areas.  The AVB 
has also worked closely with the Immigration and Checkpoints 
Authority (ICA) to develop a profile of persons involved in 
vice syndicates and the sex trade, and has stepped up efforts 
to deny entry to those they suspected of such activity.  For 
its part, MFA has increased screening and refusals of visa 
applicants overseas, particularly in China, which is the 
source country for about 40 percent of the women found in the 
sex trade here. 
 
¶5. Officials from MHA's Criminal Investigative Department 
told us that their checks, raids, and interviews with all 
detained prostitutes have yielded little evidence of 
syndicate or triad involvement in the vice trade.  Most of 
the women, they say, are operating in public, and over 95 
percent are in possession of valid travel documents and entry 
stamps (i.e., implying that vice operators are not holding 
their documents as a control mechanism).  Officials said it 
was quite common for women to be working informally with an 
 
SINGAPORE 00000938  002 OF 003 
 
 
agent or lookout of some kind, but that there was no 
indication of a greater organization behind them. 
 
Vietnamese Brides 
----------------- 
 
¶6. E/P Counselor asked for MHA's view of the recent news 
reports and public outcry here over Vietnamese brides being 
brought to Singapore to find husbands.  Lawrence Tam, Deputy 
Director for Policy and Operations at MHA said that the 
government is concerned about the recent cases.  Some of the 
brides have encountered difficult situations after their 
marriages and sought help from MCYS, he said, in addition to 
a few criminal cases in which unscrupulous Singapore men 
tricked the would-be brides and their matchmaking agencies. 
Tam said that the government has formed an interagency 
taskforce to look at these recent cases and the matchmaking 
industry as a whole, and to consider ways to tighten 
regulation of the industry to prevent abuse. 
 
Child Sex Tourism 
----------------- 
 
¶7. Ministry of Home Affairs officials also noted that 
Parliament has given its preliminary approval to draft laws 
raising the age of consent for commercial sex to 18 and 
making laws against sex with children extraterritorially 
enforceable.  According to Lawrence Tam, MHA is now working 
with other agencies to draft the details of the implementing 
regulations for the two laws.  When those documents are 
finalized in the next few months, Parliament will formally 
approve the bills, bringing them into force. 
 
Maid Abuse 
---------- 
 
¶8. The Ministry of Manpower highlighted its new regulations 
for employment agencies introduced in recent months, 
including higher penalties for holding an employee's 
passport, a new licensing scheme that requires a background 
check and an exam on laws related to employment agencies for 
agency directors, and the new demerit system used to track 
agencies' infractions and revoke licenses (see ref C section 
G).  MOM officials also noted that the directors or owners of 
any agency that loses its license will be barred from owning 
or controlling another agency in the future.  Since January 
2004, the government has revoked three licenses, and refused 
to renew ten.  MOM has also stepped up enforcement against 
abusive employers.  While many cases are dealt with through 
mediation, the government prosecuted six people for 
non-payment of wages; in three cases the women got full 
restitution, in the other three the employers went to jail 
for failure to pay.  Since 2001, 28 people have been jailed 
for abuse (in addition to the many who have been fined -- 
around 50 per year).  The Ministry requires that all maid 
agencies be accredited in order to be licensed to operate; as 
of mid-2005 accrediting bodies require agencies to use a 
standard contract stipulating a day off at least once a 
month, although, if the employee agrees, an employer may pay 
"overtime" in lieu of a rest day. 
 
Victim Assistance 
----------------- 
 
¶9. Officials from the Ministry of Community Development, 
Youth, and Sports noted that all victims of violence (whether 
Singaporean or foreign) are eligible for a full range of 
social services, including medical care, shelter, counseling, 
assistance with the police, and skills development training. 
The Ministry of Manpower has a temporary job scheme for 
victims also available to foreigners, though foreign 
participants must already possess an immigration status 
allowing them to work.  Ms. Ang Bee Lian of MCYS's 
Rehabilitation, Protection and Residential Services division 
said that the government has an interagency meeting on victim 
assistance approximately every two months, at which as many 
as 10 government agencies meet to discuss how to improve 
access and provision of these types of services.  Ang said 
that the government uses six crisis shelters for adults and 
18 for children.  While none of these shelters are 
government-owned, they all receive "100 percent funding" from 
the government for each person assisted.  Overall, Ang said, 
the government prefers that crisis shelters be a last resort, 
and often tries to find another solution, such as a relative 
who will take a person in, or foster care, before referring a 
victim to a shelter.  The Singapore government strongly 
supports private, faith-based institutions undertaking these 
efforts. 
 
SINGAPORE 00000938  003 OF 003 
 
 
 
¶10.  The MOM refers most foreign domestic workers who are 
facing abuse to MCYS shelters if they are unable or unwilling 
to remain in their employer's home during a mediation process 
or criminal investigation.  For foreign prostitutes who are 
victims of crime, police will usually first consult with the 
woman's embassy; either the Police or the Embassy would refer 
her to a shelter if she decides to remain in Singapore to 
assist in a criminal investigation. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶11. Singapore authorities' intensified efforts in the last 
year to deny entry to suspected traffickers, vice abettors, 
and sex workers through enhanced immigration screening, and 
increased enforcement efforts in red light and entertainment 
districts appear to have substantially reduced the size of 
the sex trade here.  Despite the substantial drop in the 
number of women found working in prostitution, prosecutions 
related to general vice crimes were up, and the police 
identified a larger number of trafficking victims and 
possible victims.  Although authorities filed no 
trafficking-specific charges this year, the government 
prosecuted a larger number of offenders in cases where 
trafficking was suspected -- eight in cases where force or 
coercion were alleged, and eight vice-abettors/pimps 
identified as working with underaged girls.  In addition, the 
Ministry of Manpower continues to refine its regulation of 
the maid employment industry to prevent abuse and 
exploitation of foreign domestic workers, and the Ministry of 
Community Development, Youth and Sports is working closely 
both with law enforcement agencies and local NGOs to ensure 
that all victims of violence have the best care available -- 
care as good or better than that in any U.S. city.  The 
government's efforts at enforcement and assistance have both 
constrained the space in which traffickers might operate, and 
provided an environment in which gives victims the 
opportunity to come forward safely. 
HERBOLD