Brothel in the heartlands?
Residents of Woodlands block concerned about possible vice activities at unit
Residents of an HDB block at Woodlands Drive 70 suspect a ninth-storey unit has been turned into a brothel.
The tell-tale clues are all there, they said.
Many men have turned up at odd hours at the unit, which had been vacant for more than a year before the recent activities.
Madam Lim, 46, a resident, said she once saw a well-dressed Westerner with two scantily-clad women entering the unit.
And she has seen dozens of casually dressed men in their 30s and 40s turning up at the unit.
Said the babysitter: "I see them in the evening when I need to throw out the rubbish or take the baby home. The men are always looking at their phone and looking for a unit."
Shin Min Daily News reported yesterday that three foreign women moved into the unit recently.
Then advertisements promoting sexual services and urging men to "seek pleasure" appeared online, the report said.
SECRETIVE
The advertisements indicate the price but the women are secretive about their address.
The paper said when clients contact the advertiser, they are given the block number. Only when they turn up at the block are they given the unit number.
Another resident of the block, who declined to be identified, said she saw a stranger outside her unit.
The housewife said: "He was holding his phone and he looked as though he was looking for a unit. Then I saw him walk into the unit."
Madam Lim has chanced upon that too.
She said: "Once, a young man hesitated to enter the lift. When asked if he was a resident here, he denied it and said he was looking for a friend. Later on, I saw him on the floor where the unit is."
Another resident, Madam Jacqueline Tew, 46, noticed strangers at the block, some of them leaving the unit, this week.
Said the housewife: "I saw strangers turning up last week. We know our neighbours. Those who are not residents don't usually come here."
She wasn't so suspicious on the first day.
Madam Tew said: "On the second day, I saw two men leaving the unit. One left first, followed shortly by the other. That's when I suspected something might be going on."
She added that the men looked to be in their 30s, and those in their 50s or 60s have also been frequenting the unit.
Her son, Bryan, 20, said the men usually visit the unit between 10pm and 11pm but there have been visits during the day too.
He said: "The younger ones wear Bermuda shorts, T-shirts and slippers."
Neighbours said the women in the unit have been keeping a low profile.
They don't even put out laundry on the bamboo poles outside the unit and no footwear is left outside the unit, despite the human traffic.
The New Paper on Sunday visited the block yesterday from 7pm to 9pm and two women were seen leaving the unit. But no men were seen entering or leaving the 4-room flat.
Residents TNP spoke to are worried for their safety.
A neighbour, who has a 16-year-old daughter, said: "I'll ask her to be more careful. Who knows if these men are sex maniacs."
Madam Lim, who has a teenage daughter and son, said she will probably wait outside her unit for her children if they are returning home late.
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