US embassy cable - 05SINGAPORE820

C O N F I D E N T I A L SINGAPORE 000820 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AID 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/16/2015 
TAGS: KCRM, PHUM, KWMN, ELAB, SMIG, ASEC, KFRD, PREF, SN 
SUBJECT: SINGAPORE TIP UPDATE: ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON 
TRAFFICKING AND VICE-RELATED ISSUES 
 
REF: A. SINGAPORE 744 
     B. SINGAPORE 743 
     C. SINGAPORE 742 
     D. SINGAPORE 740 
     E. SINGAPORE 657 
     F. 04 STATE 273089 
 
Classified By: Economic and Political Counselor Laurent Charbonnet for 
reasons 1.4 (b) 
 
1. (C) On March 16, the Singapore Ministry of Home Affairs 
provided us with full-year 2004 numbers on detentions, 
arrests, and prosecutions for offenses related to 
sex-trafficking, as well as additional information on 
Singapore's law enforcement efforts.  Please note that the 
MHA provided this information to us in confidence, with the 
explicit request that it not be disseminated or used 
publicly. Thus we have classified it under E.O. 12958 for 
reason 1.4(b).  Embassy has included references to the 
relevant questions in the 2005 TIP report questionnaire; this 
information supplements or substitutes for information in 
Embassy's 2005 TIP submission (refs A, B, C, and D). 
 
2. (C) (Ref F, para 18) In 2004, Singapore authorities 
detained 5,239 foreign sex workers.  Of these, 35 (0.7 
percent of the total) were between the ages of 16 and 18, and 
three were below 16.  Six of the 35 "underage" prostitutes 
were determined to have vice operators facilitating their 
activities, which is an offense in Singapore. When there is 
reason to suspect that a sex worker is younger than the age 
indicated in her passport, police will send her for a medical 
examination to determine her biological age.  The country of 
origin for sex workers was as follows: People's Republic of 
China 45 percent, Indonesia 22 percent, Thailand 13 percent, 
Vietnam 6 percent, Sri Lanka 5 percent, Philippines 5 
percent, India 3 percent, other 1 percent.  Of the girls 
between 16 and 18 years of age, 12 were Chinese, eight were 
Thai, five were Vietnamese, four were Indonesian, four were 
Sri Lankan, one was Malaysian and one was Uzbekistani. The 
three girls under 16 were from China, Thailand, and 
Indonesia.  Police report that only one of the women detained 
for prostitution in 2004 was not able to produce her 
documents (passport, student pass, or work permit) when 
requested, indicating that pimps or others are not holding 
passports as a means of control. 
 
3. (C) (Ref F, para 20) There were 16 cases in which women 
alleged they were induced by force, fraud, or coercion to 
engage in prostitution; Singapore authorities were able to 
substantiate two of these cases, and prosecuted the vice 
abettors under section 140(1)(c) of the Women's Charter 
(inducing a woman or girl to have carnal connection through 
threats or intimidation).  The GOS prosecuted one Sri Lankan 
woman under section 142(a) of the Women's Charter (bringing a 
woman into or out of Singapore through fraudulent or 
deceitful means with the intent that she shall be employed 
for prostitution).  She was sentenced to 8 months in prison. 
 
4. (U) (Ref F, para 21) In 2004, Singapore did not prosecute 
any women for offenses related to prostitution.  A small 
number of the women detained for prostitution were prosecuted 
for immigration offenses. 
 
5. (C) (Ref F, para 20H) Singapore authorities work with 
foreign counterparts to combat trafficking through Interpol. 
For example, Hong Kong and Singapore have shared intelligence 
on PRC sex workers, and the Hong Kong police provided 
Singapore with their training video on syndicated vice. 
Singapore police have also worked with PRC police to exchange 
information on Chinese vice syndicates. 
 
6. (U) (Ref F, para 20L) Organizing or arranging sex tours 
with minors overseas is an offense in Singapore, and when 
necessary prosecutors can seek heavy sentences.  No such 
cases were prosecuted in 2004. 
 
LAVIN