SINGAPORE - Police enforcement operations and investigations have found 11 people to have allegedly flouted rules for massage establishments.
Eight of them are suspected of running unlicensed massage outlets, while the other three - who are licensees of licensed massage establishments - allegedly hired workers without approvals.
The 11 errant massage establishment operators, aged between 36 and 74, committed the offences between March and July, according to findings by the Central Police Division. Six of them are men and five are women.
Ten of them will face charges in court on Wednesday (Oct 10).
Eight operators will face charges of providing massage services in an establishment for massage without a licence.
First-time offenders can be fined up to $10,000, jailed for up to two years, or both.
Two of the eight operators were found to be repeat offenders. They can be fined up to $20,000, jailed for up to five years, or both.
During enforcement checks, vice activities were also detected at four of the eight unlicensed massage outlets.
The other three licensed massage establishment licensees were found to have employed people to work in massage outlets without the approval of a licensing officer.
If found guilty of this charge, first-time offenders can be fined up to $5,000. For repeat offenders, they can be fined up to $10,000, jailed for up to two years, or both.
The three also failed to ensure that the particulars of clients were properly recorded before providing massage services.
First-time offenders can be fined up to $5,000 on conviction. Repeat offenders can be fined up to $10,000, jailed for up to two years, or both.
One of three massage outlets was also found to have failed to ensure that employees wore the uniform approved by the licensing officer when at work.
Those found guilty of this can be fined up to $5,000 or, in the case of a repeat conviction, fined up to $10,000, jailed for up to two years, or both.
In a statement on Tuesday, the police said they "take a serious view of anyone found breaking the law and will continue to take tough enforcement stance against such activities".
Correction note: An earlier version of this story said that 11 massage operators are expected to be charged in court on Wednesday. The police has since issued an update that one of the operators will be charged on a later date.
