US embassy cable - 05SINGAPORE743

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 SINGAPORE 000743 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE PASS AID 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCRM, PHUM, KWMN, ELAB, SMIG, ASEC, KFRD, PREF, SN 
SUBJECT: SINGAPORE'S SUBMISSION FOR THE FIFTH ANNUAL TIP 
REPORT PART III 
 
REF: A. SINGAPORE 742 
 
     B. SINGAPORE 657 
     C. 04 STATE 273089 
 
1.  (U) This is the third of four messages relaying Embassy 
Singapore's 2005 TIP submission.  It details all the sources 
Emboffs used in compiling the submission. 
 
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Diplomatic Representatives 
-------------------------- 
 
2.  (SBU/NF) Embassy maintains contact with consular, labor 
and other officials of embassies that represent the major 
source countries for foreign laborers and sex workers. Note: 
Foreign domestic workers come almost exclusively from 
Indonesia, the Philippines, or Sri Lanka. 
 
-- Bangladesh 
 
Mokammel Hossain, First Secretary, Labor Attache 
 
-- China 
 
He Xiaoming, First Secretary (economic and commercial) 
 
Liu Minqiang, Third Secretary, (economic and commercial) 
 
Xiang Shan, First Secretary (consular) 
 
Wei Ning, Consular Section Chief 
 
-- India 
 
Sanjiv Kumar, First Secretary (consular) 
 
-- Indonesia 
 
Fachry Sulaiman, Second Secretary (consular and protocol) 
 
-- Malaysia 
 
Westmoreland Palon, Second Secretary (political) 
 
-- Philippines 
 
Crescente Relacion, First Secretary (consular) 
 
Maria Lumen B. Isleta, First Secretary (consular) 
 
Merriam Cuasay, Labor Attache 
 
-- Sri Lanka 
 
M R Gunaratna, Minister-Counselor 
 
-- Thailand 
 
Somthawee Kopatthanasilp, Minister Counselor (labor) 
 
Kesanee Palanuwongse (consular/political) 
 
-- Vietnam 
 
Nguyen Van Quyen, First Secretary (consular) 
 
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NGOs, Civil Society, and International Organizations 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
3.  (SBU/NF) Emboffs also met routinely with NGO 
representatives that deal with foreign worker and 
trafficking-related issues. 
 
-- Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2, formerly The Working 
Committee 2) is a civil society group formed in 2002 and 
registered as a society in 2004 to lobby for improved working 
conditions for Singapore's roughly 150,000 foreign domestic 
workers (FDWs). 
 
Braema Mathi, Chairperson 
 
Constance Singam, Member 
 
-- Archdiocesan Commission for Pastoral Care of Migrants and 
Itinerant People (CMI) runs a shelter to assist TIP victims 
and other foreign laborers (including FDWs) in need. CMI 
provides frequent assistance to foreign workers with labor 
disputes, e.g., over back wages, interceding with employers 
and/or the Ministry of Manpower. 
-- Humanitarian Organization for Migration Economics (HOME) 
is run by a former employee of CMI, it runs two shelters for 
migrant workers, and frequently provides assistance in the 
form of support or advocacy in labor disputes.  Occasionally 
accepts TIP victims referred by the police for shelter. 
 
Bridget Lew, Chairperson 
 
-- Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE) is 
not focused on trafficking as an organization, but some of 
its individual members and participating organizations deal 
with TIP issues. 
 
Braema Mathi, founder 
 
Tisa Ng, President 
 
Sara Dean, Chairperson, Sub-committee on Safety 
 
-- Action For Aids (AFA), an NGO devoted to advocacy and 
patient care, has been given a grant through the Department 
of STD Control to interact with streetwalkers.  AFA 
volunteers build relationships with street-based prostitutes, 
distribute materials about condoms and sexually transmitted 
diseases in a variety of languages, and distribute condoms. 
 
Benedict Jacob-Thambiah, Executive Director 
 
Brenton Wong, Vice President 
 
-- One Hope Center, a new NGO devoted to assisting women who 
wish to escape prostitution, provides shelter, counseling, 
liaises with law enforcement and helps women return to their 
country of origin.  It hopes to open its own shelter and 
service center in the near future with the assistance of the 
Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports. 
 
Reverend Dr. Edward Job, President 
 
-- UNIFEM does not deal with trafficking victims in 
Singapore, but does work with victims and NGOs in Batam, 
Indonesia, a destination for Singaporeans traveling 
independently for sex tourism.  It is also involved in public 
outreach programs in Singapore calling attention to the 
plight of victims, particularly children, of sex tourism. 
 
Saleemah Ismail, Anti-Trafficking Coordinator 
 
Melissa Kwee, President 
 
-- The Good Shepherd Center is one of the shelters to which 
the Ministry for Community Development, Youth, and Sports 
(MCYS) refers victims in need of assistance. 
 
Sister Agnes, Director 
 
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Researchers and Observers 
------------------------- 
 
4.  (SBU/NF) Singapore's "authorized" brothel industry is 
well-researched by the government officials, academics and 
observers with whom we met; the same persons also study the 
other parts of the industry (streetwalkers, lounge hostesses, 
etc.), although with less comprehensive information. 
 
Dr. Wong Mee Lian (protect) is a professor in the Department 
of Occupational Health and Family Medicine at the National 
University of Singapore.  Since the early 1990s, she has 
instructed Singapore's sex workers on negotiating condom use 
and other safe sex practices.  She has conducted scholarly 
studies based on hundreds of interviews with both sex workers 
and clients, to whom she has good access.  Dr. Wong manages a 
database in which all registered sex workers dating back to 
1990 are listed with pertinent identifying information such 
as age. 
 
Dr. Roy Chan (protect) is the Director of Singapore's 
Department of STD Control and (in his off time) head of the 
NGO Action for AIDS.  His clinic conducts the medical exams 
and tests on brothel employees.  Action for AIDS promotes 
safe sex among the workers both in the tolerated and 
freelance brothels. 
 
Dr. Ganapathy Narayanan (protect) is a professor of sociology 
at the National University of Singapore specializing in 
deviance and social control.  He is very familiar with the 
history of prostitution in Singapore and how the trade is 
regulated in other countries. 
 
Sharon Wee is a former student of Dr. Wong who wrote her 
Masters thesis on the clients of sex workers.  She 
participated in numerous programs with Dr. Wong and worked 
directly with both sex workers and their clients in the 
course of her research. 
 
Daniel Tung (protect) is a researcher and project coordinator 
at the Department of STD Control, who has worked the past 
three years on a project monitoring trends among 
streetwalkers in Singapore and encouraging women to use 
condoms and get regular health checks. 
 
Salma Khalik (protect) is a health correspondent at the 
Straits Times who was involved in writing a recent series of 
articles that highlighted the rising rates of AIDs and other 
sexually transmitted diseases and the link to both 
prostitution and sex tourism. 
 
-------------------- 
Government Officials 
-------------------- 
 
5.  (SBU) The Embassy interacts with several government 
agencies on trafficking-related issues. 
 
Ministry of Home Affairs 
------------------------ 
 
-- MHA includes all Singapore's law enforcement agencies, 
including the police and immigration officials.  The MHA 
provided details of anti-vice operations, information on the 
detained sex workers, and other statistics relevant to 
anti-vice operations.  The Ministry also has information on 
specific cases, including charges against vice abettors and 
pimps. 
 
Ho Peng Kee, Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs 
 
Tony Soh, Director, Policy and Operations 
 
Lim Chin Tiak, Assistant Director, Criminal Investigation 
Division 
 
Pauline Sim, Assistant Director, Security Section, Policy and 
Operations 
 
Tan Pang Tong, Head, Anti-Vice Branch, Criminal Investigation 
Division 
 
 
Ministry of Manpower 
-------------------- 
 
-- MOM handles all issues relevant to foreign workers in 
Singapore, including maid abuse cases, wage claims, and 
complaints about working conditions.  The Foreign Manpower 
Management Division was established in August 2003, 
concentrating and expanding the staff dealing with foreign 
worker issues; one mandate is to consider and implement new 
policy initiatives aimed at safeguarding foreign workers. 
 
Ho Siong Hin, Director, Foreign Manpower Management Division 
 
Ng Cher Pong, Director, Foreign Manpower Management Division 
(Policy) 
 
Kenneth Yap, Head, International Relations Unit 
 
Toh Swee Chien, Manager, International Relations Unit 
 
 
Attorney General's Chambers 
--------------------------- 
 
-- AGC officials can provide information on specific 
prosecutions, i.e. the statutes under which traffickers and 
vice abettors are charged.  They can also address the state 
of inter-agency deliberations on international agreements 
Singapore is considering signing.  The AGC also provide 
centralized legal support for Singapore's government, from 
drafting of new laws to negotiation and adherence to 
international agreements. 
 
Jaswant Singh, Deputy Public Prosecutor and Directorate 
Leader, Trial Litigation 1B Directorate 
Marcus Song, State Counsel, International Affairs Division 
Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
-- MCYS handles all aspects of victims, assistance.  The 
Ministry places victims either in Government-run facilities, 
in shelters run by foreign embassies, or in shelters run by 
NGOs and church groups. 
 
Ang Bee Lian, Director, Rehabilitation and Protection Division 
 
Corinne Koh, Deputy Director, Family and Child Protection and 
Welfare Branch 
 
Marie Yeo, Assistant Director, Programmes Development 
Section, Family and Child Protection and Welfare Branch 
 
Grace Cheong, Senior Policy Officer, Policy and Development 
Branch 
 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs 
--------------------------- 
-- Though the MFA does not itself possess information needed 
to compile the TIP report, we channel requests for such 
information through Directorate II.  MFA also is involved in 
Singapore's participation in international meetings and 
relevant international agreements. 
 
Mr. Chin Hock Seng, Director, Policy, Planning and Analysis, 
Directorate II (Chaired the Singapore Government roundtable 
with Mark Taylor.) 
 
Mr. Alvin Lim, Deputy Director, North America, Policy, 
Planning and Analysis, Directorate II 
 
Ms. Vanessa Chan, Assistant Director, Specialized Agencies 
and Multilateral Issues Section, International Organization 
Directorate 
 
Mr. Lee Chong Hock, Country Officer, North America, Policy, 
Planning and Analysis, Directorate II 
 
 
 
LAVIN