DINNER in the Duxton Road area turned out to be an eye-opener for MP Christopher de Souza.

He told Parliament he was surprised to see prostitutes lining the streets.

As this was not a red-light district, he felt something had to be done to protect our heartlands from an invasion of street-walkers.

Mr de Souza, who represents Ulu Pandan, highlighted the problem in Parliament during the Budget debate yesterday and asked if more financial resources would be available to tackle it.

He noted that the number of foreign prostitutes arrested in 2006 was 4,310. This was a 34 per cent increase from 2005.

Then last year, the number of foreign prostitutes arrested went up to 5,400, a further 25 per cent rise.

He said: 'Bids to contain the trade in Geylang have not been successful. An evening drive down Duxton Road and Duxton Hill will prove that prostitutes operate well beyond the artificial borders of Geylang.

'Prostitution is working itself into our heartlands.'

To laughter, he assured the House that he drove by the area with his wife.

He added that many of these sex workers came on two-week social visit passes, and just before the fortnight was up, they would leave for Johor Baru, only to return to Singapore the same day.

The problem was so bad, he had received feedback that sexual services were being offered at shops claiming to offer massage.

He asked what concrete steps the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) would take to curb this and strengthen the anti-vice squad with additional manpower and intelligence officers to hunt vice syndicates and clamp down on their operations.

POLICE OPERATIONS UP

Responding to his questions, Senior Minister of State for Law and Home Affairs, Associate Professor Ho Peng Kee, said it was impossible to completely eliminate vice.

He said the majority of those arrested for vice activities were social visit pass holders.

Prof Ho said that last year, the police conducted 950 vice-related operations, up from the 890 in 2006.

And they were focused on keeping vice activities within the traditional red-light district.

Speaking to The New Paper, Mrde Souza said residents had voiced their concerns over prostitution in their backyard.

He said: 'We should be careful they don't encroach into the heartland areas.

'I don't think it makes for a wholesome neighbourhood if your children have to grow up next to women plying their trade.'

Turning to the problem of illegal moneylenders, or ah longs, he told Parliament the words 'owe $ pay $' have stained the walls of many common corridors at HDB flats.

He was not the only one to voice his concerns on the issue.

West Coast GRC's Mr Arthur Fong and Mr Teo Ho Pin (Bukit Panjang) also shared his sentiment.

In January last year, Prof Ho said there were 10,221 reported cases of unlicensed moneylending in 2006.

That was a 19 per cent increase over the 8,568 cases in 2005.

Mr de Souza said that despite the enhancement of penalties under the Moneylenders Act and the formation of the anti-unlicensed moneylending task force to increase the number of ambush operations, these syndicates have not been deterred.

He urged MHA to adopt a different strategy - consider making it an offence for people to borrow from an unlicensed moneylender.

He added that a borrower who gave a false address to loan sharks, causing innocent residents to be harassed, deserved to be prosecuted.

Prof Ho agreed that those who borrow to feed their vices and then abet loan sharks should not be treated as victims.

He said they were part of the problem.

While MHA had previously rejected the idea of punishing borrowers, ProfHo said they were now seriously considering it.