Over 1,440 hauled up after islandwide anti-crime blitz
A multi-agency enforcement blitz saw the authorities haul up 871 men and 577 women, aged between 16 and 91, over three weeks. It is one of the largest anti-crime blitzes to date.
More than 2,200 officers from the seven police land divisions were deployed in over 1,130 operations between June 10 and 30. The officers were supported by personnel from the Criminal Investigation Department, Central Narcotics Bureau, Singapore Civil Defence Force, Health Sciences Authority, Immigration and Checkpoints Authority, Singapore Customs, Ministry of Manpower and Housing Board.
In a statement on July 5, the police said their officers conducted checks on more than 10,400 people, of whom 512 were arrested in connection with a variety of offences involving vice, gambling, drug activities and illegal activities occurring in massage establishments and public entertainment outlets.
In an operation targeting public entertainment outlets in Orchard Road, officers from Tanglin Police Division raided a KTV lounge located in the basement of Cuppage Plaza for the second time in four months. Nine women were arrested for providing sexual services in the KTV lounge, while one woman was apprehended for working without the proper work permit.
The Straits Times, which was allowed to witness the raid on June 21, saw 23 women rounded up, with female officers checking their documents to verify their identities.
Male customers were seated across a number of the KTV’s 18 private rooms. One of them, who was being interviewed by the police, was upset when he spotted photographers from the media nearby.
An officer explained that the photos would not reveal his identity, but the man was not appeased.
The operation in Orchard Road also saw the police raid a KTV lounge located in a hotel in Novena.
In total, 19 women, aged 19 to 33, were arrested in the four-hour operation on June 21. The police said 16 of the women were detained for providing sexual services in the entertainment outlets, and three for working without valid permits.
Superintendent Ryan Koh, head of operations at Tanglin Police Division, said: “The police and government agencies will continue to conduct regular enforcement operations on public entertainment outlets and massage establishments to curb illicit activities and ensure that operators adhere to regulations.”
Public entertainment outlets, such as the one at Cuppage Plaza, are given operational licences based on a demerit point system, said the police.
The tiered system dishes out punitive measures for licence holders who break the rules. Those that accumulate up to 24 points can be forced to shut their premises.
Points are accumulated when entertainment outlets breach conditions. These can include not taking steps to prevent the sale, consumption and trafficking of controlled drugs, or offences under the Women’s Charter, including prostitution. The points can be held and accumulated over a two-year period.
Asked if the KTV lounge in Cuppage Plaza would lose its entertainment licence as a result of being hauled up twice for illegal activities conducted on the premises, Supt Koh said licence holders found engaging in unlawful activities will be dealt with sternly, in accordance with the law.
The authorities also used drones from the Home Team Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Command in an operation from June 10 to 16, led by officers from Central Police Division.
Senior Assistant Commissioner Gregory Tan, director of operations, said the three-week anti-crime blitz is part of the police’s ongoing efforts to clamp down on crime and illegal activities.
“By working closely with other law enforcement agencies, we want to send a strong message to criminals that law enforcement agencies will continue to be proactive and holistic in our enforcement,” he added.
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