MPs and govt agencies to discuss policy tweaks after residents’ feedback on vice in neighbourhoods

SINGAPORE – More than 100 residents and other participants turned up at the PAP Women’s Wing’s April 18 listening session centred on ways to achieve a wholesome neighbourhood.

Held at Tanjong Pagar Plaza, the session largely focused on the emergence of massage parlours that offer vice activities in neighbourhoods.

The talking point comes on the back of a report by The Straits Times that revealed a rise in the number of beauty and massage businesses in the heartland, according to the panel’s moderator.

The community dialogue session was held with PAP Women’s Wing chairwoman Sim Ann, the advocacy group’s central district adviser Elysa Chen and the head of the PAP Women’s Wing safety and respect arm Bernadette Giam.

Tanjong Pagar GRC MP Foo Cexiang and Jalan Besar GRC MP Shawn Loh also took part in the dialogue.

Ms Chen, an MP for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, said she had been wrestling with the issue of unsavoury businesses showing up in her ward in January, before a resident reached out to her.

The resident had claimed that her husband contracted a sexually transmitted infection after visiting a massage parlour that positioned itself as a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) shop in her constituency.

After hearing the story, Ms Chen said she spoke to her colleagues, and they soon realised that other residents may also face similar issues. This led to her arranging meetings with the relevant agencies.

“There’s increasing feedback from our residents, which is why the MPs have decided to take action. We were engaging the agencies first to strengthen our enforcement, to see what we could do first in our own capacities as central district MPs,” said Ms Chen.

The April 18 listening session was a natural step to engage with residents on ways to make their neighbourhoods more family-friendly, she added.

Ms Chen said discussions on enforcement methods, including the use of more CCTV footage, have been ongoing.

“So we are also going to be pushing on certain policy advancements so that we can really give our residents the confidence that their concerns are being looked into and that we will be raising them in Parliament,” she said.

Ms Sim, who is also Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs, said a key issue in keeping neighbourhoods wholesome is the image and tone of businesses in the area.

She said residents have pointed out that some massage businesses claiming to be open-concept establishments, which are exempt from licensing, are later found to be providing other services.

“This is an issue of enforcement, but also at the same time, you know, if the feedback shows that there should be some policy tweaks, I believe this is also something that our agencies will look into,” said Ms Sim.

She added that the MPs will push for policy reviews to be done expeditiously, beginning with industry consultations, which will “start very soon”.

As at January, there were some 15,600 HDB shops – 8,500 of them privately owned and 7,100 rented out by HDB.

The Housing Board told ST in March that around 13 per cent of the shops it rents out are beauty and wellness establishments, including hair and beauty salons, TCM facilities and massage establishments.

Meanwhile, the Singapore Police Force and HDB said in February that the current Massage Establishments Act is under review.

In January, at least 10 massage and spa businesses at Tanjong Pagar Plaza were found to have shut amid a crackdown on vice activities and police enforcement there.

This followed Mr Foo’s push for a refresh of the ageing shopping centre in September 2025 amid concerns about vice activities at some of its massage and beauty parlours.

He explained that in the beginning, he had to engage various stakeholders, such as the police, to tackle the issue.

“You need to enforce, and enforce regularly enough so that the signal is sent. Then at the same time, we try to spread the word to publicise the diversity of the stores here, to get new stall owners to come in,” said Mr Foo.

He said residents also have to play a part by patronising the new stalls in the neighbourhood.

“Getting rid of the vice is one thing, but after you get rid of the vice, it will just be an empty shell if nothing comes in that is vibrant and able to replace it. I think that is the most difficult part because if you don’t do that, after a while, it’s empty. The person who owns the stall is going to (rent) or lease it out to another vice activity (operator),” he said.