S'porean man arrested in Taiwan anti-vice raid after allegedly paying for sex at beauty salon

Lok Jian Wen
The Straits Times
Feb 1, 2024

A Singaporean man, 49, on a business trip to Taiwan was arrested by the local police during a raid on Jan 30 after allegedly getting sexual services at a beauty salon.

The local police took a search warrant to the beauty salon located at Datong 1st Road in the southern city of Kaohsiung, after receiving a report that the beauty centre was offering commercial sexual services illegally on its premises.

During the raid at around 2.40pm, officers from the Kaohsiung Police Department’s Xinxing precinct caught a Singaporean man surnamed Ho in a private room with a 42-year-old woman employed by the salon who allegedly provided him with sexual services, local police said.

Body-camera footage from the police showed a partially clothed woman answering the door when an officer knocked on it, while the man said to be Ho was inside the room.

The police added that Ho sought the beauty centre’s services on the recommendation of locals. The beauty centre located within a commercial building is well known among locals for its illicit offerings, Taiwanese media reported.

The police also nabbed two salon staff and two Taiwanese male customers, aged 49 and 63, during the same raid.

The salon’s three female employees, aged between 40 and 53, are Vietnamese citizens with residency status in Taiwan, United Daily News reported.

Another man surnamed Lin who appeared to be running the beauty centre was also arrested. The police said Lin, 33, was acting as an agent for the woman and took half of her NT$1,800 (S$80) fee from each paying customer as commission.

Lin was charged with obstructing moral decency, while the six others were charged with violating social order.

The Straits Times has contacted Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment.