Lankan ‘sex slaves’ in Singapore sex ring

Socialist SG

by Thava Sajitharan

(March 02, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The police have warned Sri Lankan citizens, especially women who hope to fly abroad for employment to be vigilant of false promises given by some foreign employment agents and not to fall prey to their seemingly lucrative offers.

S.S.P Ravi Waithyalankara, the Police Head of the Women and Children Bureau, when contacted by us said strict laws should be introduced in the country in order to curb the alleged fraudulent activities of foreign employment agencies.

However, he pointed out that the responsibility pertaining to the issue lay largely within the ambit of the Foreign Employment Bureau.

Lat week it was revealed that a prostitution ring was being operated by Sri Lankan pimps in a noted ‘red light’ area in Singapore involving a large number of Sri Lankan women. It is learnt that several employment agents dupe Sri Lankan women with prospects of lucrative employment abroad.

Treated like slaves

Waithyalankara said this was not the first time that incidents of this nature have been reported.

“We have heard stories about Sri Lankans working abroad being treated like slaves” he said.

“The country is earning a huge foreign exchange revenue from foreign employment every year. So it is the responsibility of the Government to protect those who go abroad seeking employment” he said.

“There must be a strong mechanism to monitor foreign employment agents” he stressed.

“In this case (Singapore prostitution ring operated by Sri Lankans), there is very little that the Sri Lankan police can do about. It is not under our jurisdiction. However, if facts concerning the employment agents who are involved in these illegal activities are unearthed, we will take strong action” he said.

Clients and rates

The video which was shot on the sly and is available on Google’s youtube website shows Sri Lankan women seeking ‘customers’ at Lorang 15 in the Geylang district under the watchful eyes of Sri Lankan pimps. One Sri Lankan sex worker is shown getting into an argument in Sinhala with another woman over clients and rates.

Prostitution is not barred by law in Singapore.

It is learnt that many women were coaxed into prostitution and are stranded there without a means of returning home. The narrator of the said video says that some women are keen to return home. Nonetheless, they are however not keen to reveal the identity of the pimps out of fear. However the secretly shot video gives a close-up view of the pimps while CCTV images also reveal their identity.

Several initiatives

An official of the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment who wished to remain anonymous said the Bureau has taken several initiatives to enlighten those who go abroad about the problems they may have to face.

“We are doing our best to see that malpractices don’t occur” he said.

“Yet those who decide to go abroad must also take utmost care of themselves and ensure that they don’t get trapped” he said.

“We are aware of the importance of the need to protect our citizens. We are conducting several programmes to educate them on these very important issues” the official of the Bureau said.

angel7030 SG

Dear Socialist,

Can you ask them to come here and get some of their lankan workers who overstay here back, there are thousands of them refusing to go back.

And please ask the lankan police dun talk cock, they are also part of the lord of the ring in lankan prositutions.

Socialist SG

it is not abt lanka, i is our own backyard.

angel7030 SG

it is not abt lanka, i is our own backyard.

ya, i know, i also know some of these gals, very poor thing, kenna cheated, if they see a good guy walk pass or me as a gal, they will try to pass you a piece of paper without the lankan pimps know, then you look at the paper, it written, please help me, i am here because they promised me job, but now, i hv to do sex, please, i hv husband and kids and parents and.....Can you please help me, call these nos in lankan.....4597957945894+++, i run liao.

What i mean to say is that these whole ring is a joint venture of lankan and singapore gang, and the lankan police are also involved.

reyes SG

i think the police these days a re cramping down on geylang so much so that it has become pretty quite on a weekday nights.

one of my chinese business associate told me that a chinese newspaper publish china ladies are being sold to singapore as pros.

i think the Home teams are once again being bombarded by their super lax controls of geylang and internal security.

heil wehrmacht

lionnoisy SG

i cant rule out sex slaves are working in Singapore

USA

Australia etc.so wat can we do?

lionnoisy SG

anyone who think SG is the only country to has sex slaves working

is just too naive....

Socialist SG

TOM IGGULDEN: Instead, Elena Jeffreys is calling for visas to be issued to Asian prostitutes so they can work here legally and not get involved in illegal bonded debts.

But the Government's got no plans for that just yet.

At least the aussie govt are against this , but in singapore it is legal.. wtf?