In the world of sugar daddies and sugar babes, Natalie Joy Lee investigates what truly goes on in Singapore’s social escort trade.
In the world of sugar daddies and sugar babes, Natalie Joy Lee investigates what truly goes on in Singapore’s social escort trade.
From 9am to 5pm, Amelia* is a slim and polished sales executive with a demure smile. At 6pm, she pulls out her makeup bag and shrugs out of her work wear into an LBD. She always keeps a spare dress ready in her office drawer, so she’s ready for her other profession. Because by night, Amelia is a social escort.
Today’s online social chatter paints a picture of social escorts as hard-nosed gold-diggers keen to make fast cash. Agencies quote fees ranging from $600 to as high as $1,500 or more for an hour’s company, but it’s not entirely clear what that hour involves. Is it dinner, or are escorts also expected to have sex?
“Hey, wait, isn’t this illegal?” you may ask. What about the anti-vice squad’s crackdowns on sex rings? Aren’t agents who arrange “assignments” just pimps? And the clients must all be leery old men willing to pay for sex, right?
So are sex work and social escorting legal in Singapore? To find out, we went straight to Sunil Sudheesan, Acting President of the Association of Criminal Lawyers of Singapore. “Both trades are legal,” says Sunil, and “social escort agencies are legal so long as they’re registered with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority, and do not involve the provision of sexual services.”
However, for both trades, the law is immediately flouted if a sex worker solicits in public or there is a third party who facilitates the sex work or lives on her earnings – in short, it’s not legal to be a pimp.
To curb online solicitation, earlier this year it became criminal to use “remote communication services” (such as websites or SMS) to facilitate sex work. All can incur a jail term of up to five years, a $10,000 fine, or both.
“Beautiful busty Singapore escorts”
For the record, every escort agency we spoke to said that escorting does not have to involve sex. Any “special services” are apparently a private arrangement worked out between the woman and her “assignment”.
However, when we did a quick search of the phrase “escort services” on Craigslist Singapore, we got hundreds of ads, and many of them were startlingly direct, listing hourly rates, the women’s vital statistics, and even personal contact details. Some included racy pictures and language.
And on Singapore Skokka, an online classifieds, we found Angela*, who describes herself as a freelance escort. She adds she is a “hazel-eyed 26-year-old-beauty” and “a highly sexual person [who] relishes in the thought of sharing multiple orgasms”.
In contrast, online social escort agencies take a more subtle approach. For example, Singapore City Girls apparently offers “the finest selection of beautiful busty Singapore escorts to fulfill your every pleasure and desire”, while Metro Touch is “proud to provide a discreet and honest service 24/7 to those seeking female companionship and the unforgettable experience of Singapore hottest hot [sic] escorts”.
When Tinder doesn’t cut it
Going from the language, some freelance escorts are willing to get very intimate with clients, right?
But apparently, not all of them. I met with Eric* and Calvin*, the co-owners of a local escort agency. Dressed smartly in shirts and pressed pants, the soft-spoken pair in their mid-thirties insist the industry is not as shady as it’s portrayed. They also swear they reject any carnal requests from clients.
Amelia is one of their escorts. She’s been working with them for one year and says, “This agency guarantees my authority to say ‘no’ should clients demand sex. It’s comforting to know I’m not getting pimped.”
Eric shrugs, “Some of our clients are genuinely sincere men who are unlucky in love. Sometimes, dating apps are just not enough – you want to be able to talk, look at and dine with somebody. But would an average-looking fella ever have a shot at finding a beauty on his own? Not likely, but you can pay for dinner with a girl who looks like a supermodel.”
Her bosses say they get five to 20 requests every week. Clients are typically divorced or claim to be too busy with work to find romance. Some ask for an escort they are already comfortable with, or for girls with knowledge of specific topics to ensure quality conversations. Others are particular about demeanor. “We ask our clients: ‘Do you need an intellectual? Or just simple talk?’” laughs Eric. Their escorts meet their clients in a public area to ensure safety, and send text messages to Eric or Calvin. “I send one message when we meet, and another when the session is over,” says Amelia. She admits she has sometimes given her clients hugs or a few pecks on the cheek, but rarely anything as passionate as a French kiss.
“Ultimately, the night is about conversation, companionship and it’s a confidence boost,” she says. “Who doesn’t like to know men find you attractive? I really appreciate when they act like gentlemen, and they take me to nice spots in Singapore which I otherwise would never have discovered on my own.”
Show me the money
A look at Eric and Calvin’s website shows profiles from women claiming to work as bankers, cabin crew and models (Eric shares that one is even a former Miss Singapore).
So why do they need a side job? Amelia says calmly, “Who doesn’t want to earn a quick buck?”
She’s not alone in her opinion that money talks. Escort Pond* gave an interview with The New Paper where she claimed to earn $1,800 per month as a telemarketer, plus another $5,000 a month working as an escort. She spends the cash on holidays and luxe branded goods.
And because she can speak Chinese, English and German, Ling*, 30, landed a job with a Singaporean-Chinese businessman, pocketing $15,888 for a five-day trip to Germany.
Uma claims she’s flown to 11 cities on assignment, including Toronto and LA. One of her most generous clients even threw in a two-day shopping spree in New York.
“I am petite and cannot fight them”
But let’s be real. It’s not all fun, and it’s most definitely not about love. “This is the real world – it’s impossible that a client will fall in love with his escort,” says Uma. Amelia says she’s managed to keep all her “assignments” strictly professional and seperate from her private life so far. Yet she becomes very thoughtful when asked: “If you met a man worthy of your affections, would you consider quitting for good?”
“Maybe,” is all she says. She also admits many escorts end up with trust issues after meeting clients who cheat on their partners. It can be hard to get into a stable relationship.
Then, there are the physical risks. Freelance escort Samantha* spoke to The Straits Times about her fear of clients who get violent. “I am petite and I cannot fight them,” she said. One time, when a client demanded a sexual service that Samantha wasn’t comfortable with, the 19-year-old simply “closed [her] eyes and got on with it”.
She recalls a fellow social escort who agreed to be tied up by her client – only to be violated by him while she was unable to move. Traumatised, but too afraid to go to the police, she opted to just try and forget about it all.
With such humiliating and scary experiences, it’s clear emotional damage is also a risk. Jessica Lamb is a psychotherapist at counselling agency Relationship Matters. She’s spoken to male clients who use social escort services in Singapore. Based on what they share, Jessica says that, “while social escorts may have more control over who they meet than sex workers, some of the risks are similar, plus the emotional and physical affects on the woman can be just as negative.”
The money may be tempting, and sex is not always be on the menu... but even so, it’s clear being a social escort has the potential to cast a long shadow over the rest of your life.
Uma explained that all three of her private relationships failed after she told the guys what she did. “None of them could accept what I do. And I accept that… So yes, this job comes with a price to pay.”
