Four-year clean-up sees drastic drop in number of pubs and massage parlours
By
Liaw Wy-Cin & Yeo Sam Jo
The alley in Joo Chiat, which divides the backs of a row of bars and another of residential houses, is said to attract dubious activities at night. Currently very dark at night, it will be lit up in two to three months' time. -- ST PHOTO: SHAHRIYA YAHAYA
JOO Chiat is still clearing out the sleaze, four years after residents clubbed together to protest against the proliferation of massage parlours and bars in the area.
Now, there are fewer pubs and the massage parlours have all but gone.
And in a few months' time, a notorious alley, running between the backs of bars on one side and homes on the other, which had become a toilet for bar patrons - and worse - will be lit up.
But the ladies of the night are still there - though perhaps not as boldly as before.
Said a 10-year resident, realtor Z. H. Choong, 51: 'In the past, they would approach you. Now they hang out at the coffee shops and wait.'
However, the father of three teenagers conceded: 'But the problem is more contained now.'
Joo Chiat Road is a 1.75-km stretch bordered by Geylang, Marine Parade, Still and Haig roads. But it is only the 50-metre stretch between Joo Chiat Place and Dunman Road which has given the area a bad name, said the MP for the area, Mr Chan Soo Sen.
A few years ago, residents began complaining about the influx of bars into their neighbourhood. This was followed by prostitutes, mainly Vietnamese, and massage parlours.
The lighting up of the alleyway between Joo Chiat Road and Onan Road is the latest initiative by grassroots volunteers to clean up and restore Joo Chiat to its reputation of a place with a rich cultural heritage and good food.
The Joo Chiat Community Safety and Security Programme has been working with various government agencies to bring down not only vice, but also noise pollution, littering and illegal parking.
Read the full story in Friday's edition of The Straits Times
