38 held in budget hotel raid
POLICE raided a budget hotel along Lavender Street on Wednesday and arrested 38 suspects of various nationalities.
The operation against online vice was carried out by officers from the Criminal Investigation Department and Central Police Division.
Four of the suspects were arrested under the Misuse of Drugs Act while the rest were arrested for offences under the Women's Charter. Police investigations revealed that some of the suspects had made use of the Internet to advertise their sexual services.
Investigations against the arrested persons, including the hotel operator, are ongoing.
Director of the Criminal Investigation Department, Senior Assistant Commissioner Ng Boon Gay said: 'Vice operators who think they can operate freely under the anonymity of the Internet are sadly mistaken.
'We will continue to clamp down on syndicates and hotel operators who knowingly facilitate such illicit activites. Hotel operators are expected to run their business responsibly and exercise due diligence in keeping their premises crime free.'
Under the Women's Charter, any person who knowingly lives wholly or in part on the earnings of the prostitution of another person can be jailed up to five years and fined up to $10,000, if convicted.
A repeat male offender also faces caning.
