Women’s Charter 1961 - Singapore Statutes Online

Suppression of brothels

148.—(1) Any person who keeps, manages or assists in the management of a brothel shall be guilty of an offence.

[36/2019]

(2) Any person who is the tenant, lessee, occupier or person in charge of any place which is used as a brothel shall, unless the person proves that the person has no knowledge and could not, with reasonable diligence, have ascertained that the place is used as a brothel, be guilty of an offence.

[36/2019]

(3) Any person who being the tenant, lessee, occupier or person in charge of any place lets such place or any part thereof shall, despite such letting, be guilty of an offence if the place or any part thereof is used as a brothel, unless the person proves that, when entering into the letting of that place or part thereof, the person had no knowledge and could not with reasonable diligence have ascertained that the place or part thereof is to be used as a brothel.

[36/2019]

(4) Any person who, being the owner of a place or the agent of an owner of a place, lets the place or any part thereof shall, despite such letting, be guilty of an offence if the place or part thereof is used as a brothel, unless the person proves that, when entering into the letting of that place or part thereof, the person had no knowledge and could not with reasonable diligence have ascertained that the place or part thereof is to be used as a brothel.

Examples of reasonable diligence

An owner of an apartment or an agent of the owner verifies the identity of a prospective tenant and purpose of the tenancy through personal inspection of the prospective tenant’s documents of identity (such as the NRIC, passport or work permit) and has a face-to-face interview with the prospective tenant, before entering into the tenancy agreement or allowing the prospective tenant to start occupying the apartment.

A flat-owner who is not resident in Singapore engages an agent to verify the identity of a prospective tenant of the flat and purpose of the tenancy through personal inspection of the prospective tenant’s documents of identity (such as the NRIC, passport or work permit) and a face-to-face interview with the prospective tenant, and then verifies with the agent that those steps were carried out, before the flat-owner authorises the entry into the tenancy agreement for the flat or the occupation of the flat by the prospective tenant.

[36/2019]

(5) A person who is guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable on conviction —

(a)	to a fine not exceeding $100,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or to both; but
(b)	where the person is a repeat offender, to a fine not exceeding $150,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years or to both. [36/2019]

(5A) A person is a repeat offender in relation to an offence under subsection (1), (2), (3) or (4) if the person has been convicted or found guilty (whether before, on or after 7 August 2020) on at least one other earlier occasion of an offence under subsection (1), (2), (3) or (4), regardless of the subsection.

[36/2019]

(6) In any proceedings under this Part, any evidence given by any police officer not below the rank of sergeant that any place has been used as a brothel or a place of assignation is, until the contrary is proved, deemed to be sufficient evidence of the fact.

Termination of tenancy of places on conviction for permitting use as brothel, etc.

150.—(1) Upon the conviction of the occupier of any place for any offence under section 147(1) or (2) or 148(1), (2) or (3) in respect of the place, the owner of the place must within one month require the person so convicted to deliver up possession of the place to the owner, and in the event of the person so convicted failing within one month of being so required to deliver up possession as aforesaid, the owner of the place is entitled to terminate the lease or contract of tenancy but without prejudice to the rights or remedies of any party to the lease or contract accrued before the date of such termination.

[36/2019]

(2) Where the owner of any place has terminated the lease or contract of tenancy in accordance with subsection (1) and the occupier has not delivered up possession of the place after such termination, a Magistrate’s Court may, on the application of the owner, make a summary order for the delivery of possession of the place to the owner.

(3) If the occupier disobeys any order made by a Magistrate’s Court under subsection (2), the occupier shall be liable to the penalty prescribed in that behalf in section 188 of the Penal Code 1871.

Demolition of structural contrivances for facilitating running of place of assignation or of brothel

151. Whenever it appears to a court, upon the trial of any offence under section 147(1) or (2) or 148(1), (2), (3) or (4), that the place in or in respect of which the offence is alleged to have been committed is a place of assignation or a brothel, and that the same is fitted or provided with any means or contrivances such as staircases, doors and partitions, ladders, planks, platforms, posts, palings, fences, locks, bars, bolts or any other things which appear to it to have been specially erected or constructed for the purpose of facilitating the carrying on of a place of assignation or of a brothel at the place, the court is to order the demolition of such means or contrivances.

[36/2019]

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