THEY'VE been labelled 'outlaw pubs'. And quite rightly so, because they've given the Duxton Road area that dubious cowboy town reputation.
Duxton area - a small enclave of pubs and restaurants popular with executives in the 1990s - is now muttered under the same breath as Joo Chiat and even Geylang.
Some of the action going on in these pubs is nothing short of lewd.
Just last month, three Filipinas were convicted of obscene acts - exposing their breasts to patrons on separate occasions at different pubs.
The police conducted 24 anti-vice raids in the first nine months of the year. 414 people were arrested, mainly women.
Last year, 321 people were nabbed in 14 raids.
MP Christopher de Souza had earlier voiced his concerns that prostitutes were making their way into that area in Parliament in February.
He had 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.'
It's no wonder that the Tanjong Pagar Business Association is crying foul over the unwelcome attention to the area.
It blames the renegade pubs, which have sprouted over the years, for blatantly flouting the laws.
This association, which was set up two years ago, is made up of about 30 pubs in the area.
President Mr M Rajoo, who owns a restaurant and a pub there, said that about 50 pubs in the area are not members of the association.
And this is because they can't adhere to the association's rules of no touting and no illegal activities.
Said Mr Rajoo: 'We don't want this place to be considered a hub of vice activity.
'But people have gotten excited about this area in a bad way. And this is because of a few black sheep here who are giving us a bad name.'
The 51-year-old said that some pubs which have flouted the association's rules were given warning letters.
No pubs have been expelled before but about 20 of them have voluntarily opted out of the association.
Mr Rajoo added that their business in that area has dropped about 30 to 40 per cent in the last few months, partly because of the unwelcome publicity and the economic crisis.
Nearly all the members of the association held an emergency three-hour meeting at Mr Rajoo's restaurant in March after Mr de Souza's comments.
They decided to ask customers to smoke in the back alleys instead of outside the pubs to avoid giving the impression that there were unsavoury people lining the streets like Geylang.
They had also said then that they planned to install more fluorescent lights to brighten up the alleys.
One pub-owner, who only wanted to be known as Michael, said that his business has dipped by about 50 per cent in the last few months.
This association member also attributed the dip to the economic situation, the reputation of the area and a case of way too many pubs in that area.
He has been operating his pub there for eight years.
'It was so peaceful back then when I started but the situation has changed since. There're more police raids now and because of that, customers start to stay away because they don't want to be associated with this area,' he said.
He said that if takings keep dipping, they may have to wind up his business.
The New Paper visited the area on Tuesday and saw several scantily dressed women walking along the road.
But Mr Rajoo explained that just because these women are sexily dressed does not mean they are prostitutes.
Pub employees had said in previous reports that some of these women's job was to get customers to order more drinks, dance with them and entertain them.
And while some have said that it's not fair to label them as prostitutes, there's no denying that hanky-panky does occur in the pubs.
Businessman Paul Toh, in his 40s, doesn't mind the sleaze quotient.
He said: 'I'm just here for drinks and to soak up the atmosphere of the pub.
'And if there're pretty women around, what's the problem? As long as I don't get harassed.'
This article was first published in The New Paper on Nov 6, 2008.
