SINGAPORE TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS UPDATE

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