Sex first, then you can sell my flat: Women property agents fend off indecent proposals and harassment

SINGAPORE – Property agent Susan Mariam was in a Jurong West Housing Board flat speaking to the owner about selling his home 13 years ago, when he suddenly locked the door and tried to force her to have sex.

She ran into the master bedroom, locked the door and screamed for help from the window of the second-floor unit.

Her husband, who was waiting for her at the carpark, heard her screams and ran up to the unit.

He yelled at the home owner and told him to let his wife go before the police arrived.

Ms Mariam, who is now divorced, got away unscathed and the man was taken away by the police.

The 44-year-old senior associate branch director at OrangeTee is among several property agents who spoke to The Straits Times about encountering instances of sexual harassment or indecent proposals in the course of their work.

ERA property agent Desiree Leung, for instance, received a handwritten letter that was mailed to her office on July 1, likely from a prospective home buyer.

In the letter – seen by The Straits Times – the writer said he would engage her services to buy a flat, but only if she agreed to have sex with him.

Ms Leung, 30, said: “When I read the first few lines, I thought it was a normal inquiry to meet and discuss a property sale but when I read the sentence ‘I want to f*** you for an hour’, I was shocked.

“I showed it to my colleagues in the office immediately and later made a police report.”

Ms Leung, who has been in the real estate business for four years, said there was no way to find out who the sender was.

The letter did not have a return address, phone number or any other details.

This was not the only instance of harassment she has faced, she said.

In another incident, a tenant made a video call to her late at night and exposed himself during the call.

Ms Leung decided to go public with her experience, and leaned on close friends and family for support.

She said: “Many people don’t speak up out of fear. Since sharing my story, I have received personal attacks online... comments like ‘she asked for it’ or ‘she’s not pretty’. It is painful.”

Responding to queries, ERA key executive officer Eugene Lim said: “ERA considers this a case of sexual harassment and we take a very serious view of such behaviour. No agent should be subjected to abuse or inappropriate conduct in the course of their professional duties.”

When agents inform the company that they were sexually harassed, the human resources and legal departments will step in to support them, assess the situation and guide them on what to do next, including filing a police report if needed.

Ms Sugidha Nithiananthan, advocacy and research director at the Association of Women for Action and Research, said employers need to provide harassment-free work environments.

This includes protecting employees from harassment by customers and other third parties. Employers should also have anti-harassment policies in place and procedures to handle harassment cases when they occur, she said.

When asked how women can better protect themselves from sexual harassment, Ms Nithiananthan said: “Rather than asking what victim-survivors should do, the primary focus should be to address why some men feel it is acceptable to send such insulting and derogatory messages to women agents.”

Watershed Law director Christian Teo said the law in Singapore does not specifically define sexual harassment, but what happened to Ms Leung certainly falls within the scope of what one would consider sexual harassment.

There are laws to protect against harassment, under the Protection from Harassment Act or Poha, he added.

Mr Teo said: “A victim can rely on Poha to commence a civil action for remedies against the perpetrator, such as a protection order or damages.”

He added that if the police decline to investigate, the victim can file a Magistrate’s Complaint.

This will enable the victim to seek criminal recourse for punishment.

He said the victim should preserve evidence of any harassing act, especially where digital media is involved, by taking screenshots or downloading chat logs.

“Increasingly, digital media platforms allow users to unilaterally delete messages,” he added.

He advised victims to make a police report as soon as possible and alert their workplace supervisors so that security measures can be implemented if needed.