SINGAPORE'S SUBMISSION FOR THE 2006 TIP REPORT:

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 07 SINGAPORE 000630

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'S SUBMISSION FOR THE 2006 TIP REPORT:
PART I

REF: A. STATE 3836


B. SINGAPORE 470

C. SINGAPORE 139

D. 05 SINGAPORE 3614


1. This is the first of three messages relaying Embassy
Singapore's 2006 TIP submission. Due to the length of our
submission, we have split it into three cables. Part I
covers the overview of Singapore's trafficking problem and
prevention efforts. The Embassy point of contact for this
report is Colin Willett, phone: (65) 6476-9492; fax: (65)
6476-9389; email: willettc@state.gov. Per the request in
para 17 of Ref B, to date the
Embassy has spent the following time on the TIP report:

COM: 3 hours; FE-MC: 5 hours; FS-1: 50 hours; FS-5: 150 hours.

Summary
--------------


2. (SBU) Overall, the trafficking situation in Singapore
improved in 2006. The nature of the trafficking problem in
Singapore has not changed dramatically since last year's
report, but the Singapore government is now more aware of and
proactive against trafficking, and is working with local NGOs
and other groups to combat the trade. A variety of sources
indicate that the number of trafficking cases in Singapore
has declined, due to a decrease in the number of women
working in the sex trade following a police crackdown on
vice-related activities in late 2004 and early 2005. On
labor issues, particularly those related to foreign maids,
the Ministry of Manpower has continued to refine its
regulations, enforce the laws, and raise public awareness of
the consequences of exploiting domestic workers.


3. (SBU) In November 2004, ASEAN leaders made combating
trafficking a priority. Since that time, the government of
Singapore has been more actively discussing and working on
the issue with its ASEAN neighbors and local NGOs. NGOs
report a significant improvement in their working
relationship with the government. Not only are NGOs given
more latitude to conduct their own programs, including media
campaigns and school-based programs, but the police,
immigration authorities, and the Ministry of Community
Development, Youth and Sports are now reaching out to local
civil society to solicit advice and input as well as to offer
a more cooperative working relationship on investigations and
public outreach campaigns. Singapore is also preparing
important legislative changes that will address key USG
concerns: it plans to raise the age of consent for commercial
sex from 16 to 18 and to make laws against sex with minors
enforceable extraterritorially. We expect Singapore to enact
these changes in the first half of 2006. End Summary.

Overview
--------------


4. (SBU) A. Is the country a country of origin, transit or
destination for international trafficked men, women, or
children? Specify numbers for each group; how they were
trafficked, to where, and for what purpose. Does the
trafficking occur within the country's borders? Does it
occur in territory outside of the government's control (e.g.
in a civil war situation)? Are any estimates or reliable
numbers available as to the extent or magnitude of the
problem? Please include any numbers of victims. What is
(are) the source(s) of available information on trafficking
in persons? How reliable are the numbers and these sources?
Are certain groups of persons more at risk of being
trafficked (e.g. women and children, boys versus girls,
certain ethnic groups, refugees, etc.)?

Singapore is a destination country for a limited number of
women and girls trafficked for the purpose of prostitution
and, in rare instances, foreign domestic workers who
voluntarily come to Singapore to work but are subsequently
subjected to conditions that may rise to the level of
trafficking. Singapore is not a country of origin for
trafficked persons, either for sex or labor. There is no
internal trafficking in persons. Post is not aware of any
cases of trafficking victims transiting through Singapore,
Singapore authorities do not consistently screen the several
million transit passengers who pass through the transit
lounge at Changi Airport each year. (There was one
prosecution for trafficking involving a person transiting

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Changi in 2005, but the woman was later exonerated. See
section II.F for details.) U.S. Immigrations and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) officials at post do not believe Singapore
is a major hub for people smuggling, a circumstance that
further reduces the likelihood that there are a large number
of undetected trafficking victims in transit.

There are no numerical estimates of the magnitude of
trafficking in Singapore. The number of cases that the
Embassy has identified through discussions with the
government, NGOs, and foreign Embassy consular contacts is
well under 100; however, given that Singapore has a sizable
sex industry, it is possible that the total number of victims
exceeds 100.

Estimates of the numbers of women who may have been
trafficked are based primarily on police interviews with
women involved in the sex trade and anecdotal evidence of
local NGOs. While these organizations are reliable, they
rely heavily on voluntary disclosure by victims, and may
therefore underestimate the number of persons trafficked.
Most NGOs, government contacts, source country consular
officials, and U.S. law enforcement officials working in
Singapore agree that the overall number of trafficking
victims is probably small.


B. Please provide a general overview of the trafficking
situation in the country and any changes since the last TIP
Report (e.g. changes in direction). Also briefly explain the
political will to address trafficking in persons. Other
items to address may include: What kind of conditions are the
victims trafficked into? Which populations are targeted by
the traffickers? Who are the traffickers? What methods are
used to approach victims? (Are they offered lucrative jobs,
sold by their families, approached by friends of friends,
etc.?) What methods are used to move the victims (e.g., are
false documents used?).

The number of trafficking victims in 2005 was down slightly
from 2004, probably due to a crackdown on the sex trade in
Singapore (which began in late 2004) that has substantially
reduced the number of foreign prostitutes working here.
Local NGOs say that they have been coordinating with the
Police and providing their observations on the patterns of
behavior by foreign prostitutes and their pimps or vice
abettors. As a result, the NGOs say, immigration authorities
are allowing fewer foreign prostitutes to enter Singapore,
and Police have closed down many of the establishments, such
as karaoke bars, where prostitutes and pimps had gathered.
NGOs say the Police are also more frequently and more
aggressively patrolling known "red light" areas. Police
detained approximately 1,700 women from January to June 2005,
down from over 2,600 in the same period of 2004. (Note: Post
expects full-year, detailed data from MHA by the end of the
week, and will send an update cable upon receipt.)

Nearly all of the known or suspected cases in 2005 involved
sex trafficking, in part because of vigorous government
efforts in recent years to better protect domestic workers.
None appears to have been confined by the traffickers or
subjected to physical violence. Consular officials from
Embassies of source countries report that the cases they
encounter usually involve women who come to Singapore
voluntarily to work in the sex trade or elsewhere who then
face some sort of coercion, usually psychological, not
physical, by agents or pimps. Typical stories involve women
who were told they could find jobs here in a restaurant or
bar, but arrived to find that legitimate work was not
available or paid very poorly. Now alone in Singapore, and
often having borrowed money for their travel expenses, they
do not want to or cannot go home empty handed, and enter the
sex trade either of their own volition or at the urging of a
recruiter. Consular officers and NGOs report that few such
women are physically threatened or abused. For the few maids
who face severe abuse that may rise to the level of
trafficking, all come to Singapore willingly to work but are
ultimately exploited by their employers -- through nonpayment
of wages, illegal confinement, and physical or psychological
abuse.

The Government of Singapore is committed to combating
trafficking in persons, as it is committed to stamping out
all kinds of organized crime and corruption. Singapore
leaders place great stress on achieving a very low crime rate
and maintaining extremely tight immigration controls.

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High-level commitment to combating trafficking appears to
have strengthened since Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong
attended the 2004 ASEAN Summit, at which trafficking in
persons was a primary topic of discussion.

Singapore emphasizes tight control of immigration, effected
through very tough laws, and has strengthened controls
further since 2001. While it adopted these controls
primarily for security reasons and to prevent a large influx
of undocumented workers, the controls also effectively serve
to prevent large-scale trafficking in persons into Singapore.
Singapore also has allowed employers to legally bring in
large numbers of domestic and unskilled workers, and at
relatively low wages (Singapore does not impose a minimum
wage); with ready access to inexpensive foreign labor through
legal channels, few employers wish to risk draconian
penalties by hiring illegal employees or exploiting
trafficking victims.

Local NGOs report that the police, the Ministry of Community
Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS),and the Ministry of
Manpower have in the past year dramatically increased their
efforts to work in concert with NGOs and other civic groups
both to promote public education about trafficking (through
school programs and publicity campaigns, for example) and to
improve enforcement efforts. (See Sections II.C and II.F.)

Law enforcement agencies routinely monitor all red-light
districts using formal police checks, informants and
electronic surveillance, and NGO representatives say they
have stepped up efforts to police red light districts in the
past year. NGO contacts and consular officials here say the
authorities fully investigate any allegations of trafficking
and are anxious to prosecute traffickers -- in fact a common
complaint is that investigations are so thorough that they
often take months, requiring witnesses and victims to remain
in Singapore. The consensus among Embassy contacts in civil
society and diplomatic circles is that Singapore is willing
to devote whatever resources are necessary to combating these
crimes.


C. What are the limitations on the government's ability to
address this problem in practice? For example, is funding
for police or other institutions inadequate? Is overall
corruption a problem? Does the government lack the resources
to aid victims?

The government has both the will and the resources to combat
trafficking in persons; the largest limitations on its
ability to address the problem are the generally
uncooperative nature of the victims and the difficulty of
obtaining evidence. Overall, police, NGOs, and
source-country embassies tell us that the women involved do
not often allege force or coercion. The vast majority of the
women do not face any criminal or immigration charges, and
generally choose to tell the police they were acting of their
own free will in order to be allowed to return home
immediately rather than remain in Singapore for months. When
women do allege trafficking, they are often not able to
provide many details about their traffickers, and police and
NGOs tell us that their stories are often difficult to
verify, particularly when contradicted by their coworkers.
Also, the trafficking rings themselves do not appear to be
physically present in Singapore, but operate out of source
countries with (at most) a few low-level agents or pimps
present in Singapore. As a result, the actual traffickers
are generally beyond the reach of the Singapore Police. Some
embassies remove victims from Singapore to pursue an
investigation in the source country rather than press charges
in Singapore.


D. To what extent does the government systematically monitor
its anti-trafficking efforts (on all fronts -- prosecution,
prevention and victim protection) and periodically make
available, publicly or privately and directly or through
regional/international organizations, its assessments of
these anti-trafficking efforts?

The Ministry of Home Affairs keeps extensive records on
persons passing through border checkpoints, as well as
records on all detentions, arrests, investigations,
prosecutions and convictions, and publishes an annual report
on crime in the first quarter of each year. More detailed
information on crime statistics is available upon request;
local NGOs tell us that MHA has been forthcoming in response

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to their requests for such information. The Ministry of
Manpower keeps records on all allegations of maid abuse and
the outcomes of their investigations, as well as other
violations of the regulations governing employment of foreign
workers. MOM makes information on abuse allegations and
prosecutions as well as violations by employment agencies
available on its website. The Ministry of Community
Development, Youth and Sports keeps records on all cases
where it has provided access to shelter or medical or
psychological care.

PREVENTION
--------------


5. (SBU) A. Does the government acknowledge that trafficking
is a problem in that country? If no, why not?

The government of Singapore acknowledges that a small number
of the foreign prostitutes in Singapore have probably been
forced or coerced into the sex trade. The government also
acknowledges that it continues to have a maid-abuse problem,
but although it prosecutes all cases of abuse, it does not
classify severe cases of abuse as trafficking. The GOS's
assessment -- shared by this Embassy -- is, however, that
trafficking in persons is not widespread. Authorities remain
vigilant, and continue to take actions that directly or
indirectly reduce the likelihood of trafficking.

The government also does not describe as "trafficking" some
cases that we would so classify: these cases include 16- and
17-year olds wittingly and willingly engaged in prostitution,
and "work disputes" involving women who entered Singapore for
the purpose of prostitution. Despite these definitional
differences, the government prosecutes the vice operators
involved in these cases, when it has prosecution witnesses.
The GOS will raise the age of consent for commercial sex to
18 in 2006. Victims in these categories are few, as
described in Section I.B.


B. Which government agencies are involved in
anti-trafficking efforts and which agency, if any, has the
lead?

-- Singapore's Immigration and Checkpoints Authority controls
the borders and looks for illegal immigrants, including
trafficking victims, and for persons who employ or harbor
illegal immigrants.

-- The police monitor the sex industry, including through the
use of informants, street patrols (uniformed and undercover),
and electronic surveillance. They interview women detained
for public solicitation and pimps (both public solicitation
and pimping are illegal),and look for coercion. Police also
investigate allegations or suspicions of maid abuse. Until
shortly before trial, police are responsible for law
enforcement-related interaction with witnesses in criminal
cases, including trafficking-related ones.

-- The Attorney General's Chambers prosecutes both
trafficking and domestic abuse cases.

-- The Ministry of Manpower investigates complaints by
foreign workers about pay or working conditions, attempts to
resolve problems through mediation or enforcement action,
works with employment agencies to improve business practices
and encourage the industry to police itself, and carries out
education efforts among both employers and employees.

-- The Ministry of Community Development, Youth, and Sports
(MCYS) assists victims with counseling and obtaining
temporary shelter, if required, and is involved in public
education campaigns to raise awareness of trafficking crimes
such as child prostitution.



C. Are there or have there been government-run
anti-trafficking information or education campaigns? If so,
briefly describe the campaign(s),including their objectives
and effectiveness. Do these campaigns target potential
trafficking victims and/or the demand for trafficking (e.g.
"clients" of prostitutes or beneficiaries of forced labor)?

In February 2006, the Ministry of Manpower and
government-linked telecommunications company Singtel launched
a information campaign that aims to raise awareness among

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foreign workers, including maids, of their rights and the
resources available to them by printing such information and
maid and police hotline numbers on prepaid phone cards
(popular with foreign workers).

Local NGOs have sponsored a number of anti-trafficking
awareness programs in the Singapore school system in 2006,
including a recent conference on child prostitution for
secondary school students organized by students from Raffles
Girls School. Singapore's two largest national universities,
the National University of Singapore and Nanyang
Technological University, have run a variety of seminars and
information sessions (open to the public) on a range of
trafficking-related issues.

NGO contacts report that the Ministry of Community
Development, Youth and Sports will launch a campaign against
child sex tourism in March 2006 in accordance with an
ASEAN-wide awareness program initiated at the ASEAN Summit in
November, 2004 in Vientiane.

In addition to these specific programs, the government runs
an on-going public campaign to raise awareness among
employers and employees about the rights of foreign workers,
who comprise nearly 30 percent of Singapore's labor force.
These publicity efforts include highlighting Singapore's
tough laws against abuse of domestics or harboring illegal
immigrants. Government-linked media run regular features on
domestic worker abuse and exploitation, and the
government-linked press widely publicizes convictions.
Public shaming is considered a significant part of the
justice system's punishment and deterrence efforts; NGO
contacts say that press coverage given to abuse cases and
other foreign worker issues, combined with Singapore's new
regulations and improved efforts to publicize those
regulations, has had a positive impact on the welfare of the
foreign workers here.

In 2005, the government-linked media has taken up the cause
of sex-trafficking as well, with a particular focus on child
prostitution and child-sex tourism. A local television
program on the government-owned Channel News Asia, for
example, has run a series of episodes on victims of sex
trafficking, and local newspapers run occasional "victims'
stories" to highlight the human cost of trafficking and
exploitation.


D. Does the government support other programs to prevent
trafficking? (e.g., to promote women's participation in
economic decision-making or efforts to keep children in
school.) Please explain.

This question seems addressed to countries that are origin
countries for trafficking victims; Singapore is not a victim
origin country. Singapore has a first world economy and has
legally protected women's equal rights to education,
employment and independence since 1961. Education is
compulsory, and there are a number of programs designed to
make sure all children have access to education at all
levels. Nearly all Singaporeans go to secondary school, and
half pursue a post-secondary education.


F. What is the relationship between government officials,
NGOs, other relevant organizations and other elements of
civil society on the trafficking issue?

Civil society leaders involved in combating trafficking in
persons report a dramatically improved working relationship
with the government over the past 18 months. Multiple NGOs
have reported that they now have frequent contact with both
the police and the Ministry of Manpower (MOM),and in many
cases have individual officers' and supervisors' personal
mobile phone numbers to facilitate communication. One NGO
said that even very high-level officials are "remarkably
accessible," and noted that all email requests from their
organization to the Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs
Ho Peng Kee have received a response within the same working
day (MHA includes both the Police and Immigration). Another
organization noted that Police acted on any tips passed from
that group "immediately." Several NGOs told us that the
Police now call them for advice on difficult investigations,
and expressed satisfaction with how the police are handling
cases referred to them.

NGOs that work with sex-trafficking victims say that the

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Police have also consulted with them on several issues,
including ways to improve police interviewing techniques and
interaction with women who may have been victimized. They
report that the Police hav successfully used NGOs information
on how pimps and prostitutes operate to crack down on the
vice trade. The Police have also given the NGOs advice on
Singapore laws and guidance on the types of information and
evidence that are most helpful in police investigations, so
that the NGO workers can ask the right questions when they
encounter potential victims. NGOs working with domestic
workers say that MOM's Foreign Manpower Management Division
routinely consults them on policy changes and takes any
suggestion for new regulations or policies seriously, and has
implemented NGO suggestions it found to be workable.

The government also has excellent relations with the
embassies of the various source countries. All but one
(which does not report such crimes to the Singapore Police)
say that the authorities actively investigate allegations
they bring to the government's attention, whether of
sex-trafficking, maid abuse or work permit violations. Most
say that the new regulations regarding foreign workers have
been helpful in securing their welfare, although there is
some concern that education requirements may disadvantage
their nationals, many of whom cannot meet the literacy
requirements.


G. Does it monitor immigration and emigration patterns for
evidence of trafficking? Do law enforcement agencies screen
for potential trafficking victims along borders?

Singapore closely monitors its borders for any suspicious
behavior or evidence of criminal activities. Singapore has
one of the world's toughest immigration regimes, and the
Government further stepped up controls after September 11,

2001. These measures act as substantial barriers to illegal
immigration and to trafficking in persons as a subset of this
problem.

Singapore maintains a record of all travelers who enter and
exit Singapore, including information on persons they were
traveling with and the vehicles they were in. It checks all
travelers' information against government-wide lists of
prohibited travelers, suspicious persons, and immigration
offenders before clearing them. The GOS is currently
addressing the technical changes needed to participate in
Interpol's database of lost and stolen travel documents
(which became available to member countries at the end of
2005) to allow it to better target transnational crime. The
GOS anticipates completing the arrangements by mid-2006.

NGOs and source-country consular officials say the Singapore
government is attentive to all indications of trafficking and
thoroughly investigates when there is evidence of such
crimes. For example, in 2005, although transit passengers
are not specifically screened, the Immigration and
Checkpoints Authority arrested a woman in the transit lounge
after an alert airport employee noticed she did not speak the
same language as the children traveling with her. She was
charged and tried for trafficking but was ultimately
exonerated when the children's parents were located and told
police the woman was a family friend who had agreed, with the
consent of both parents, to bring the children to their
mother in Paris.

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) also maintains a record of
offenses (ranging from minor technical infractions up to
serious crimes) committed by employers of foreign workers and
can and does bar persons from employing foreign domestics
based on past abuse. From January to September 2004, the
Ministry blacklisted 54 employers for abusing their maids,
and between 2001 and June 2003 jailed 22 employers for abuse.
(Note: Post expects to receive updated statistics by
mid-March, and will file revised text at that time. End
Note.) MOM also revoked the licenses of six employment
agencies for violating the Employment of Foreign Workers Act
in 2005. In February 2006, MOM adopted a demerit system for
employment agencies, with infractions earning 3, 6, or 12
demerits depending on the severity; 12 cumulative demerits
will result in revocation of the company's license. The
tally of all employment agencies demerits is available for
public viewing on the Ministry's website (www.mom.gov.sg).
The Ministry also bars some employers of other foreign
workers from obtaining work permits based on patterns of
misconduct (e.g., nonpayment of wages or inadequate housing);

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in industries heavily dependent on foreign workers, such as
construction, the prospect of being so barred acts as a
strong incentive for employers not to mistreat their workers.



H. Is there a mechanism for coordination and communication
between various agencies, internal, international, and
multilateral on trafficking-related matters, such as a
multi-agency working group or task force? Does the
government have a trafficking in persons working group or a
single point of contact? Does the government have a public
corruption task force?

There is an independent anti-corruption agency with broad
powers, which aggressively pursues cases of possible
corruption against government officials and private citizens.

There is not a formal anti-trafficking task force; however,
Singapore is an efficiently run municipality of 4 million,
and interagency coordination within its small government is
generally excellent. In addition, government agencies
cooperate well with foreign diplomatic representatives and
NGOs in dealing with the rare cases of trafficking, and in
implementing measures that prevent trafficking from occurring.


J. Does the government have a national plan of action to
address trafficking in persons? If so, which agencies were
involved in developing it? Were NGOs consulted in the
process? What steps has the government taken to disseminate
the action plan?

The government does not have a specific national plan of
action to address trafficking in persons per se, given the
small number of cases and diverse nature of the crimes here.
Instead, it gives full authority to various agencies to
implement available laws and regulatory tools to combat the
various crimes that comprise "trafficking in persons." MHA's
Criminal Investigative Department is the primary agency for
combating sex trafficking, in close coordination with MHA's
Immigration and Checkpoint Authority, the Ministry of
Community Development, Youth and Sports, and local NGOs. The
Ministry of Manpower is the primary agency for addressing
labor trafficking, and works closely with source country
consular officials, MHA's Immigration and Checkpoints
Authority, Criminal Investigative Department, MCYS, and local
NGOs. Ministries have broad authority to adjust implementing
regulations to make them more effective without formal
approval from Parliament or a central body, although such
changes are usually coordinated with other relevant
government agencies as well as local NGOs before they are
finalized. Regulatory changes are frequently made in this
manner -- several times a year, in the case of MOM. The
changes are published in the government's gazette (available
online) and on the relevant ministry's website, publicized in
the media through ministry press releases, and in many cases
distributed to subscribers to ministry mailing lists.

HERBOLD