A Singapore man has been advertising sex tours in Vietnam through the Internet. He claims to be able to arrange sex tours to Ho Chi Minh City and even says he is able to provide a specific type of girl - virgins!
His website which has since been toned down, said if customers want to, they can verify the status of the girls' virginity at local clinics.
Going by the name Ah Sam, the 37-year old man who is married with two young children and based in Ho Chi Minh City, promises his clients a "dream sex holiday".
When told he would be breaking Singapore laws by providing such tours involving girls under 18, he seemed unfazed.
"I thought I would not be guilty of an offence if I did it in Vietnam, not Singapore," he said.
It is an offence for any person to make travel arrangements for tours outside Singapore for commercial sex with minors under 18. It is punishable with up to 10 years imprisonment or a fine or both.
Under Singapore law, anyone caught having commercial sex with a minor under the age of 18 here or overseas can also be jailed up to seven years and fined.
Vietnam laws prohibit anyone from organising or encouraging prostitution.
Ah Sam, who said he has lived in Vietnam for six years, claimed he returns to Singapore once every nine to 12 months, but has never read news reports about the illegal nature of such activities.
He has been offering sex tours since 2007 and charges up to S$1,000 for virgins. He said the women mainly work in brothels and massage parlours, and some of them are women he met on the street.
He said: "I approach them and tell them that I want to recommend them to my sex tour clients. The women then tell me their rates and I try to negotiate fair rates.
"Then I update my website accordingly. The oldest woman is about 25 and the youngest are between 18 and 19 years old."
When asked how he verifies the ages of the women, particularly the younger ones, Ah Sam claimed he could tell "by looking" at them.
He claimed to get about six calls daily from potential clients for his sex tours. About 20 per cent are Singaporeans. The rest, he said, come mainly from the US, Canada and Europe. Ah Sam claimed he also advertised on Google.
He said: "I also have Malaysian, Indonesian and Arab clients. Eight out of 10 people who call me say they want a sex tour.
"Of that number, two out of every 10 people say they want virgin girls."
Up to 5 years' jail for pimping
UNDER the Vietnamese Penal Code, anyone convicted of organising or encouraging prostitution can be jailed for between six months and five years.
Harbouring and procuring prostitutes as well as having commercial sex with anyone aged between 16 and 18 years are also criminal offences.
Anyone found guilty of trafficking in women can be jailed between two and seven years, and fined.
MS: I'm aghast with men trying to take advantage of young girls, especially when most of them probably don't know what they are getting into when they sign up. But the customers, the men who ask for these young girls are the ones who are really creating the demand. It is because of them that human trafficking in these parts is rife.
I have come across mothers pimping their daughters in some countries in the region and I find it really sad. I know I'll never understand their predicament or begin to but all I know is that I'll definitely do all I can in my power to ensure my daughter is never forced into this, especially when I still have the use of my hands and legs as many of these mothers do.
Missus Singapore out!
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