Open Letter to Boss Sammyboy & Fellow Samsters

[YishunDweller]

I have been a lurker in this forum close to 15 years now & SBF has been like my digital mancave which I can go into almost everyday. 2 things weigh very heavily on my mind today and I just very much want to share.

1. Today I had to finally decide to close down my restaurant which I opened pre-pandemic. The return to Phase 2 will completely wipe me out & I have & I would have to retrench my 12 staffs who also have mouths to feed. But I have to make the uneasy decision to choose my family over theirs & start applying for a job again in my 50s.

2. Against my better judgement, I had befriended a masseur from China whom I first found on SBF. We never really dated but I consider her a friend, as in someone I could talk to and we really hit off as i found comfort from home with someone I can share my problems with. Recently due to the raids, she had to leave her daughter behind in SG and was deported to China with chances of coming back slim to nothing. It was simply heartbreaking when she called me from China to help check in on her daughter from time to time which I promised I would.

Do I blame the errant KTV bosses or the gals or our fellow samsters who frequent the place? No, though we all have to admit that we all share some part of the blame for the circumstances we are in.

However it need not be. Through the years, we have seen countless of establishments get raided, gals deported, OKTs & Masseur/Spa owners get arrested and fined. So the question begets: Why can’t we legalise this side of the industry? The granting of licenses to brothels in SG was a Faustian bargain the SG govt did with the triads so that they may have a legal source of income rather than racketeering or drug trafficking. Why can’t we apply the same concept for the greyer parts of the vice trade?

The Govt needs to understand that people are no longer going to legal brothels as they are so many more options however illegal. Driving the industry underground was what got us all into this in the first place. If the KTVs and the lounges were legal, there would be contact tracing that would help in protecting the general population . Hell, we could even have ART kits in every room that all patrons have to take in order to gain entry to the premises. We can protect the girls, the workers as well as our families in the process.

With legalisation, we could

1. Set proper employment standards for the gals (So they don’t have to pay the crazy fees demanded by human traffickers or risk getting abused or getting tricked into the trade.)

2. We can “unionise” the gals so that everyone receives healthcare training to reduce the spread of diseases including STDs. These gals can also receive proper medical care & counselling from official agencies.

3. The govt can set aside specific zones for these KTVs or Massage parlors to exist and advise the property owners. That way landlords don’t get into trouble when for errant leaseholders (many of whom are just scapegoats)

4. The Tax revenue from these activities could be a boon for the IRS.

5. We can minimize the manpower requirements of the anti-vice unit as well as the attorney general office in prosecution efforts. Imagine instead of a raid, its just a routine check.

6. Gals also dun need to come here on a “visit visa” and overstay and end up everyone has to deal with that bullshit.

I understand that there is a moral dilemma in making such a progressive move as the Govt wants to keep the image of Singapore clean as well as the overtly holier-than-thou religious elements who would be opposed to this. However, in sweeping this under the rug for so many years, the hens have returned to roost in the form of our large covid outbreak last week, wrecking the whole F&B industry.

And this is where the reason for my open letter to Sammyboy & fellow Samsters. There is no other platform where patrons go in search for information and most of the OKTs are here anyway. Could we self-organise among ourselves to seek the govt solution to this? This Cat-&-Mouse game is essentially meaningless to satisfy a moral minority & frankly not very practical.

[jacky43]

I blamed bosses of SME. They discover a biz chance to earn $. I mean. Legal RLD closed. The shops become F&B. However, the new owner ran illegal RLD biz. This is cat and mouse. I seldom agreed with the lighting.

About this P2 no more dine in. Past 2 days I notice people eating in coffee shops and hawker ctrs. 2 persons 1 table. They take their time over meal and drinks. They pretend there is no q for tables and chairs. Now, good! No more dine in for a mth.

By the way. The first day of hungry ghosts festival falls on 8 August, Sun follow by 9 August, Mon. NDP 2021.

[ToyOrgasmic]

hi TS, i hope you are aware, that the KTV cluster is getting lesser and under control and not the reason for SG going back to P2HA..

imo, the reason for KTV cluster to be this small is because it's illegal, henceforth the number of men going to those joints are lesser in numbers. therefore there's limited amount of cases..

the worrying cluster is JFP, where its a huge trade and links to island wide wet markets, hawker stalls AND older population.

can you imagine the day where ktv hostess is legal and tons of viet thais flooding our shores to earn tax free income(i mean, come on, are you really expecting a tax invoice + GST for every tips they receive?), breaking up families and cheating uncle's CPF back to their country?

[Penguin23]

I think MHA is simply not ready to face the truth. If you know some folks in government, the higher-ups tend to be moralistic and their coping mechanism is to simply discard information that doesn't fit their current worldview. KTVs exist for good reason - Captains of industry visit these places to do business, and Singapore knows that it is better to keep these places above board rather than underground, but stop short of full legalization.

I do pity the MP or Minister who stands up in Parliament to deliver the speech explaining the change in policy if the government ever pursues full legalization of KTV and some other vice trades like the illegal massage parlours. I can envision housewives banding together to kick out this brave MP in the next elections because let's face it - most Singaporean women themselves refuse to understand why men like to go KTV and they think that the only correct policy move is an outright ban.

Good luck trying to change that last viewpoint.

[porscheclub]

Agree. If only Singapore regulators can deal with this in a matured and objective manner. Learn from the Swiss how they manage the sex industry and sex workers pay taxes too! Once properly regulated, it will reduce human trafficking and better manage illegal trade plus health benefits for everyone.

[randyrockhard]

No politician want to be remembered as the person who pushed for legalizing vice activities and the subsequent bad news it might entail.

Look, the law of the land will change slowly as the society progresses. The Republic has been around for 55 years, and yes even the racial classification rule still exists after 100 years.

Even small things that don't really bother people, if it's deemed 'dishonorable' are not allowed. Like how single women aren't allowed to have artificial insemination.

Have any politician stood up and fight for such individual rights?

Things just don't happen overnight, buddy.

[teokc278]

Today make the beginning of a suffering again for those taxi driver, grab driver, shop and restaurant owner. Some even close shop, family affected. No money to feed family.

All these thanks to those chee ko peh as well as those viet bu.

I will double return back them once able to do so to take revenge on what they have causes to us.

[teokc278]

Alot of them kpkb said government should not open these and should not open that and push all the blame to them.

However, i think should blame the KTV owner. F & B licence then just make sure the lady have permit and be a waitress and not hostress.

No matter what, this convid thing will last how long, nobody will know so the best is live with it. If the country going to open up then we will end up like malaysia, you see their business all dead still? who will come to invest and open up the job market and help those jobless for job.

[PepijnLijnders]

HI TS,

I think what you had written garment already did with the legal whores in houses and those holding yellow cards in the past.

Just that these had been removed since the pandemics.

These stables and legal houses can be worst infections record if allowed to operate.

I had fond memories in the past paying $120 for 2 shots with the Malaysian whores carrying umbrella.

[unitybudget]

Originally Posted by jacky43

About this P2 no more dine in. Past 2 days I notice people eating in coffee shops and hawker ctrs. 2 persons 1 table. They take their time over meal and drinks. They pretend there is no q for tables and chairs. Now, good! No more dine in for a mth.

By the way. The first day of hungry ghosts festival falls on 8 August, Sun follow by 9 August, Mon. NDP 2021.

I usually goes out to eat early morning so didn't realised what you wrote.

Thanks for sharing chinese 7 month soon.

[superstiffy]

Singapore got no hope liao la....

The older generation know how to open 1 eye close 1 eye.. they know what is going on.. give and take abit so can control and have balance. They are street smart. The new generation all study until high... everything is law by law.. jit tao all is street stupid. everything also theory can work... but in real life you know i know la...

The older generation come up with way to prevent problems... the new generation wait for problem come liao then come up with way to solve problem. first time cannot try again, try and try until can lor.. no need to say sorry just say on hindsight.. also wont tio pok...

The older generation got balls to do big thing. The new generation scare this scare that want to protect own balls scared kenna chop off so do things is abit abit.. try and see how cannot then adjust try again... because doesnt affect them mah....

but also cannot blame the new generation... they never go thru xiong days.. their path is swee swee lay out for them liao... come out of teh mother cb start to be groom to become leader liao... whole life is protected species... the things they see and experience is all planned properly.... so its not how capable u r.. is whos lanpah make you and whos cb you come out from..

[cavemao]

bros what i want to say is, do you think gahmen really so kum gong that they dunno all these KTV illegally operating, be it pre covid or now? They just keep one eye close, and follow the army style mantra, do anything but don't get caught.

in this way, they keep the religious zealots at bay by telling them "you see? i listened to you guys, they're all illegal!"

but at the same time they give themselves leeway by "allowing" them to operate under a tight leash via occasional raids to trim the flock

and now it exploded and all the lao aunties and our OCs at home all fanning the flames of the fire, gahmen of course need to step in. you see the news article, 400 over pivoted F&B establishments and on average only 2 were inspected per day!? that is gahment closing one eye liao.......

i eagerly await the day when singapore will open up a soi cowboy like thailand but we know it will never ever happen. but i do wonder, a deeply religious society like thailand who has an overwhelming number of buddhists and christians, how do they manage to open up soi cowboy without people revolting?

[fallen11]

Originally Posted by jacky43

By the way. The first day of hungry ghosts festival falls on 8 August, Sun follow by 9 August, Mon. NDP 2021.

is ah gong coming to attend NDP this year?

[dgsk]

Bro TS, how old is the daughter? Is she here on a student visa?

[YishunDweller]

Originally Posted by dgsk

Bro TS, how old is the daughter? Is she here on a student visa?

I rather not say.