There are government-regulated brothels where foreign and local women legally offer sexual services to customers. These women are required to carry health cards and to undergo regular medical check-ups.
Note that all references to prostitution in this article relate to commercial sex between a male and a female. Currently, all forms of male-male including transgender males sex in Singapore remain criminal offences under Section A of the Penal Code.
The government-regulated brothels are not the only place where such services are offered. Karaoke lounges and massage parlours are some of the common places where one might be offered sexual services for a fee.
Would-be customers should beware though, as these are likely to be illegal operations. Other prostitution-related activities that are illegal in Singapore include public solicitation, living on the earnings of a prostitute and maintaining an unlicensed brothel. Even with strict regulations and licensing to protect the trade from minors and to ward off criminal involvement, new ways of offering illegal prostitution are appearing all the time.
Undeterred, sex workers and their accomplices attempt to websites hosted outside of Singapore to circumvent these new laws. In this article, we review some of the regulations and issues relating to the paid sex trade in Singapore.
