Police arrest 17 during raids at Orchard, Selegie Rd and Parklane Mall -- including 4 women who appeared nude in public

Chew Hui Min
The Straits Times
16 April 2017

Nine entertainment outlets were raided on Saturday (April 15), resulting in the arrests of 17 suspects, police said on Sunday.

Three men and 14 women were arrested in an eight-hour operation on Saturday involving the police, traffic police, Central Narcotics Bureau and the Singapore Civil Defence Force.

During the operation, the police arrested 14 women for employment related offences.

Of the 14 women, four were arrested for appearing nude in a public place. Two men suspected to be "members of an unlawful society" were arrested, police added.

The outlets included clubs at Orchard Road and Selegie Road, Lianhe Wanbao reported.

The scene was "chaotic" at a KTV pub at Parklane Shopping Mall that was raided, as girls tried to evade the police officers, the Chinese evening daily said.

Some women were in various states of undress as they attempted to dash out of the private rooms. The reporter saw three or four women try to make a run for it, but they were blocked by women police officers at the door.

Some tried to escape notice by walking out calmly but were also stopped by officers stationed at the exit of the club. 

At another club at Kramat Lane, more than 30 women in short skirts were entertaining customers by doing a K-pop number when the police interrupted the show.

When they were being questioned, one tried to bribe the officers. They were asked to take out their personal items from their handbags for inspection and one of the women deliberately left a $100 note on the table, Wanbao said. She was warned not to do it again.

When checked, it was found that many held student passes or tourist visas. A few were permanent residents, Shin Min Daily News reported. 

One of the outlets was found to have breached public entertainment licensing conditions, while four had breached fire safety regulations.

The Traffic Police also conducted an enforcement operation against drink driving around Clemenceau Avenue.

A man was arrested for drink driving, and 28 motorists were checked.

Investigations against the suspects are ongoing.