Russian woman charged over alleged role in foreign vice ring

Traskovskaya Evgenia was charged with three counts of knowingly living in part on the earnings of two foreign prostitutes. Her case will be mentioned again on May 19.
Traskovskaya Evgenia was charged with three counts of knowingly living in part on the earnings of two foreign prostitutes. Her case will be mentioned again on May 19. PHOTO: SHIN MIN

A Russian woman was charged yesterday over her alleged involvement in a "high-class" vice ring which offered escort services starting from $500 an hour.

Traskovskaya Evgenia, 39, was charged with three counts of knowingly living in part on the earnings of two foreign prostitutes.

Between April and May 7 last year, and from January until late March, Evgenia allegedly lived in part on the earnings of a purported Russian prostitute, Natalia Kapskaya, 31.

Evgenia also allegedly lived in part on the earnings of a purported prostitute from Uzbekistan, Asalya Abdurakhmanova, 30, between September last year and April.

Evgenia is one of four women, aged between 26 and 39, arrested last Thursday after police officers from the Criminal Investigation Department carried out simultaneous raids in the vicinity of Raffles Boulevard, Tanjong Katong Road and Cairnhill Road.

The four women are suspected of making use of their valid Singapore work passes to commit prostitution-related crimes.

The police said preliminary investigations revealed that the vice syndicate used at least 10 different online platforms - including Backpage, Skokka and Yelp - to advertise the sexual services of women, starting from $500 an hour.

Evgenia arrived in court in a grey T-shirt and later changed into a white T-shirt. Her blonde hair was tied in a ponytail.

She was expressionless as a Russian translator read out her charges.

Evegenia did not enter a plea. Bail was set at $30,000.

Her case will be mentioned again on May 19.

Under the Women's Charter, anyone who knowingly lives entirely, or in part, on the earnings of the prostitution of another person can be jailed for up to five years and fined up to $10,000.

In a separate police raid last Thursday, five women aged between 29 and 39, and a 21-year-old man, were also arrested for prostitution-related activities in residential areas in Yishun and Sengkang, the police said in a news release yesterday.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on May 07, 2017, with the headline Russian woman charged over alleged role in foreign vice ring. Subscribe