Workers must wear approved uniforms, under tightened regulations
By Lim Yan Liang 20 June 2012
Police have tightened licensing requirements for massage parlours in the city to prevent vice activities in such businesses.
From next month, employees of Category II massage establishments must don company uniforms approved by the Police Licensing and Regulatory Department (PLRD). Category II shops refer to those situated away from residential areas, hospitals, schools and places of worship.
These include massage spas found in People’s Park Complex and the Adelphi, for example.
To get approval, photos of the uniforms showing the side, back and front have to be sent to the department. Tops must have sleeves, and only pants are allowed. If the uniforms do not bear the company name, employees have to wear company name tags.
By 2015, at least 80 per cent of the masseuses and therapists employed by such establishments will also have to possess professional qualifications recognised by the PLRD. The current required standard is 50 per cent.
New business owners who want to open massage parlours will have to meet the new criteria before licences will be granted. Existing licencees have three months to comply with the new rules.
The new regulations come at a time when customers have noted a rise in the number of massage spas offering ‘specials’ - code for sexual services - in recent years.
In 2010, police said they revoked the licences of 50 massage parlours, compared with six the previous year. No updated figures were available.
In an earlier report this year, police said massage operators that conduct vice activities would face legal consequences on top of violating licensing conditions.
Category I massage establishments, located in HDB residential estates and neighbourhood centres, already meet both staffing and uniform requirements.
To discourage vice activities, massage parlours in both Categories I and II also have to pay an annual fee of $525, unless they conduct their services in full view of the public - meaning no rooms or partitions.
Massage spas contacted yesterday said the new rules would help to burnish the industry’s image.
‘It’s definitely a good move, as uniforms will help businesses project a more professional image,’ said the 43-year-old manager of Xin Hua TCM Therapy who gave her name as Ms Wu, adding that her staff have been wearing uniforms for more than a year.
The clinic, which offers massage as well as other traditional Chinese medicine therapies, has two outlets - in Guillemard Road and Tanjong Pagar Plaza.
Ms Stella Monzon, 39, a therapist with 21st Century Beauty Spa, agreed. She said: ‘Wearing uniforms will improve the image of not just the spa, but also the person herself.’
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Police put the squeeze on massage spas
Workers must wear approved uniforms, under tightened regulations
By Lim Yan Liang
20 June 2012
Police have tightened licensing requirements for massage parlours in the city to prevent vice activities in such businesses.
From next month, employees of Category II massage establishments must don company uniforms approved by the Police Licensing and Regulatory Department (PLRD). Category II shops refer to those situated away from residential areas, hospitals, schools and places of worship.
These include massage spas found in People’s Park Complex and the Adelphi, for example.
To get approval, photos of the uniforms showing the side, back and front have to be sent to the department. Tops must have sleeves, and only pants are allowed. If the uniforms do not bear the company name, employees have to wear company name tags.
By 2015, at least 80 per cent of the masseuses and therapists employed by such establishments will also have to possess professional qualifications recognised by the PLRD. The current required standard is 50 per cent.
New business owners who want to open massage parlours will have to meet the new criteria before licences will be granted. Existing licencees have three months to comply with the new rules.
The new regulations come at a time when customers have noted a rise in the number of massage spas offering ‘specials’ - code for sexual services - in recent years.
In 2010, police said they revoked the licences of 50 massage parlours, compared with six the previous year. No updated figures were available.
In an earlier report this year, police said massage operators that conduct vice activities would face legal consequences on top of violating licensing conditions.
Category I massage establishments, located in HDB residential estates and neighbourhood centres, already meet both staffing and uniform requirements.
To discourage vice activities, massage parlours in both Categories I and II also have to pay an annual fee of $525, unless they conduct their services in full view of the public - meaning no rooms or partitions.
Massage spas contacted yesterday said the new rules would help to burnish the industry’s image.
‘It’s definitely a good move, as uniforms will help businesses project a more professional image,’ said the 43-year-old manager of Xin Hua TCM Therapy who gave her name as Ms Wu, adding that her staff have been wearing uniforms for more than a year.
The clinic, which offers massage as well as other traditional Chinese medicine therapies, has two outlets - in Guillemard Road and Tanjong Pagar Plaza.
Ms Stella Monzon, 39, a therapist with 21st Century Beauty Spa, agreed. She said: ‘Wearing uniforms will improve the image of not just the spa, but also the person herself.’
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