Young and hip pimps

On one such occasion, Mr Liang was shocked to receive a call from a woman.

Mr Liang said: "The young-sounding, female pimp called to confirm my appointment while she was in an MRT train. I could hear the messages on the PA system mentioning the station where the train would stop next."

As a precaution, pimps make calls from unlisted telephone numbers and clients never get to meet the pimps. Some pimps also provide SMS alerts.

At the hotel, clients would be told via SMS which room to go to. The girls collect payment at the end of the sessions.

The pimps are said to be looking abroad to source for prostitutes to work here.

Mr Lim, who frequents discos in Bangkok, recently met a group of Singaporeans in their 20s who were there to recruit women.

Said Mr Lim, who speaks fluent Thai: "No wonder the mama-san at the disco had previously complained about losing her girls to Singapore.

"But what surprised me was that these pimps are young and hip-looking, not like the ones you meet (on the streets of) in Geylang."

While some believe that Singaporeans are behind the online sex trade, one man, who gave his name only as Mr Tan, firmly believes international syndicates are at work.

Through chats with some of the girls he sleeps with, Mr Tan, 39, was told that the foreign girls were part of an overseas syndicate.

Mr Tan, who works in a bank, learnt that some "high-end" girls tour the region, like in a golf circuit.

Said Mr Tan, who once saw a familiar face at a club in Macau while he was on business: "I thought it was a coincidence, but she told me it was part of her tour.

"She also said that Singaporeans who help manage the girls while they are in town are just the runners."

Such syndicates are casting their nets wider.

Not only are they providing women from neighbouring countries, they also provide prostitutes from distant countries. Some also guarantee service at five-star hotels.

The New Paper on Sunday understands that the women check in under their own names and operate from their rooms.

While going online may make it harder for the authorities to detect syndicates, such moves put the women in danger, said an activist who reaches out to prostitutes in Geylang.

Said a Student Christian Movement activist, who gave her name only as Yock Leng: "The girls may now be 'invisible', but should they need help, whether in terms of safety or counselling, they might not have anyone to turn to.

"Clients also put themselves at risk because there is no guarantee that the girls are regularly screened for sexually transmitted infections."

Whether pimps deploy prostitutes on the streets or hide them in hotel rooms, the penalties are the same.

Under the Women's Charter, anybody who procures a woman, whether locally or overseas, for the purpose of prostitution can be jailed not more than five years or fined not more than $10,000.

Any hotel owner who knows that his hotel is being used as a brothel can also be jailed not more than three years or fined $3,000, or both.

tnp@sph.com.sg

This article was first published in The New Paper.