Man used mother's HDB flat sale proceeds to finance brothel operations, gets jail

SINGAPORE: A man who financed a brothel business with the money his mother received from selling her flat was given six months and nine weeks' jail on Friday (Mar 26).

Tan Yung Meng, 49, pleaded guilty to three charges of allowing his apartment to be used as a brothel, harbouring an immigration offender and living in part on prostitution earnings. Another three charges were considered in sentencing.

The court heard that Tan worked with two other men to run a "kai gong fang", or brothel operation business. He met up with an old acquaintance, co-accused Wee Teck Chuan, 54, in December 2017.

Wee asked Tan if he wanted to contribute S$5,000 into the brothel business and receive 40 per cent of the profits in return.

Tan agreed and used part of the S$100,000 that his mother had received from selling her HDB flat.

With the first S$5,000, the pair rented a unit in Race Course Road and enlisted a third man - Toh Lye Thiam, 61 - to act as a "dua pek gong" or a fall guy.

Tan acted as the financer of the operation, investing money to rent residential units that were later sublet to sex workers from China. In total, he earned S$7,500 from the business.

One of the women came to Singapore in November 2017, intending to work as a performer. However, when she arrived, her friend asked her to work as a masseuse instead.

After trying this out for a month, the woman felt the business was "not good". "Under the advice of her friend, she became a prostitute," said Deputy Public Prosecutor Marcus Foo.

When the woman's social visit pass expired, she overstayed in Singapore to earn more money. In March 2018, she met a friend who invited her to move into one of the men's units with her.

The woman agreed and moved in for S$140 rent per day. She provided sexual services to 26 customers at the unit between mid-March 2018 and Mar 26, 2018.

On Apr 10, 2018, immigration and police officers conducted a joint operation at the unit and found two sex workers and Toh.

They seized 42 condoms, two lubricant tubes and several mobile devices. All three were arrested.

Toh was earlier given six months and four weeks' jail and a fine of S$2,600, while Wee was given 16 months and two weeks' jail and a fine of S$53,000. 

The sex worker who overstayed in Singapore was fined S$300 for immigration offences. 

The prosecutor sought nine months' jail for Tan, saying that he "was the very basis by which this illegitimate venture could come into being". 

His lawyer sought a shorter jail term, saying that his client has "led a very difficult life" after losing his father at the age of 12. His girlfriend's suicide has also led to his current psychiatric issues, he said, without elaborating on these issues.

District Judge Marvin Bay said there was a clear escalation in the case, with the scale of the business being enhanced by successive "investments" for rental units.

"There is a clear need to deter activities of this nature, given the obvious moral hazards associated with the setting up of brothels and other establishments of ill repute in residential housing areas," he said.

However, he noted Tan's plea of guilt and the lack of related prior convictions.