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Wednesday 11 February 2009
Escape from Geylang brothel
One Singaporean housewife went to great lengths to look for woman who says she was held against her will in Geylang, and even took the troubled Indian national into her own home.
One Singaporean housewife went to great lengths to look for woman who says she was held against her will in Geylang, and even took the troubled Indian national into her own home.
By Vivien Chan, TNP 11 February 2009
How far would you go to help a woman who says she is being kept against her will in a Singapore brothel?
One Singaporean housewife kept in touch by phone, went to look for her in Geylang, and took the troubled Indian national into her own home.
The drama, which stretched over two days, included a number of furtive phone calls made by the captive woman, Rani (not her real name), a string of men who were not much help, and one who finally arranged a night escape in a taxi - and then exacted a heavy price for it.
None of those involved are being identified by their real names, in order to protect both the victim and her saviour.
The latter, Madam Mary, who is in her 30s, told us the story. Rani declined to be interviewed.
Rani, 27, arrived in Singapore on 25Jan, said Madam Mary. She had travelled here with Neela, a woman from her home town who has worked in Singapore for more than 10 years.
A few months ago, when Neela was in India, the two had met there.
Neela offered Rani a job as a maid in Singapore, paying 10,000 rupees ($310) a month.
As Rani’s sister is also a maid here, Rani thought the deal was good, and agreed, hoping to use the money to pay for her daughter’s marriage some day.
Rani has three young children, but is separated from her husband in India.
She did not tell anyone about coming to work in Singapore because Neela had told her that her prospective employer would not like it.
Neela allegedly paid for and arranged Rani’s flight and visa .
But almost immediately after the plane landed in Singapore, Neela told Rani what she had really been brought here for - to be a prostitute.
She also learnt that Neela had been a prostitute all along, and not a maid, as she had thought.
They were met at Changi airport by Neela’s boyfriend, who drove them to a house in Geylang.
On the way there, Rani is said to have repeatedly told Neela to take her back to India.
Threatened
At the house, Neela and her boyfriend allegedly threatened to beat her if she did not obey them.
The next day, they made her stand outside the house, but within the compound, to get customers.
She was not to leave, but was asked to use a room in the house.
It was not clear how, but Rani managed to make one phone call to her sister, who had gone back to India on leave.
After hearing of Rani’s predicament, her sister gave her the number of her Singaporean employer’s friend, Madam Mary.
Rani’s sister in India then called Madam Mary, to tell her about Rani’s distress call and pleaded with her to help.
But there was nothing much Madam Mary could do then except wait by the phone.
Around 4pm that day, she got a call from a man who said he was with a woman named Rani.
The man said they were on the second storey of a double-storey house on Geylang Lorong 24.
He said he had been walking by the house when Rani, who was standing outside, grabbed his hand and pleaded with him to let her to use his handphone.
Before Madam Mary could ask more, the phone line went dead.
At around 7pm, another man called. He asked Madam Mary if she was Rani’s employer, and said Rani wanted her help.
Said Madam Mary: “I told him to call 999, but he said he dared not use his phone to dial 999. He asked me to go to the house if I wanted to help her.”
The man then ended the call.
Three hours later, at 10pm, a third man called. He said Rani was crying outside the house and was wearing a white sari with black dots.
He passed the phone to Rani. Madam Mary said she asked Rani why the phone call from the first man was cut off abruptly.
Rani told her that the first man was caught by the “prostitution leader”, who threw his phone away and beat him up.
Madam Mary said the third man was also too afraid to help.
She decided there was nothing much she could do then, and went to sleep.
The next morning, she made a police report. And that afternoon, she said, she got a friend to drive her to Geylang Lorong 24.
“Sure enough, I saw this Indian woman in a white sari with black dots standing outside a house, crying,” she said.
But she did not stop or approach the woman because she was afraid of the “gangsters”.
That night, around 11pm, a fourth man, who introduced himself as Appu, called her.
Appu said he was passing by the house when Rani pulled him in, crying for help. And this man, finally, was ready to help.
Madam Mary told him to try his best to get Rani out of the house and into a taxi.
She told Appu to give her telephone number to the taxi driver. She also told him to be discreet and try to avoid trouble.
At 2.30am, Appu called again.
According to Madam Mary, he said he was trying his best to help Rani, but was having difficulty because the area was “surrounded by prostitution leaders”.
At 4.35am, Madam Mary received a call from a taxi driver.
The cabby said he had a passenger by the name of Rani.
Madam Mary said she checked with the cabby if Rani was alone, before directing him to drive to herhome.
The taxi arrived about 45 minutes later.
Madam Mary, who lives with her husband and children, said she paid the taxi fare and let Rani into her home.
After taking a shower, Rani rested.
Later that morning, she told Madam Mary the whole story.
And that was when Madam Mary found out that Appu was not really the rare gentleman willing to help a woman in distress.
It turned out that Appu had managed to take Rani out of the Geylang house, only to check into a hotel nearby. He then allegedly asked Rani for sex in return for his help.
Rani told Madam Mary that she felt that she had no choice and agreed, as she did not want to return to the Geylang house.
She said she did not have sex with any of the other men.
Madam Mary said: “Rani also told me that there are close to 40 prostitutes from India and Bangladesh in that house, and about five are being held against their will.”
When Madam Mary asked why Rani did not approach the police who patrolled the area, Rani said she had not seen any police cars stop, to give her a chance to run out to them.
Now, Madam Mary is worried. She claimed she heard from Rani’s sister, who is still in India, that Neela was there, offering a reward of 100,000 rupees for information about Rani.
Said Madam Mary: “I don’t know how to help Rani now. I am worried for my family and myself.”
She said Rani was scared to go back to India, though she had her passport with her. She was also scared to stay on in Singapore.
A police spokesman declined comment as investigations are on, but noted that there was no indication at this point of any syndicate being involved.
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Escape from Geylang brothel
One Singaporean housewife went to great lengths to look for woman who says she was held against her will in Geylang, and even took the troubled Indian national into her own home.
By Vivien Chan, TNP
11 February 2009
How far would you go to help a woman who says she is being kept against her will in a Singapore brothel?
One Singaporean housewife kept in touch by phone, went to look for her in Geylang, and took the troubled Indian national into her own home.
The drama, which stretched over two days, included a number of furtive phone calls made by the captive woman, Rani (not her real name), a string of men who were not much help, and one who finally arranged a night escape in a taxi - and then exacted a heavy price for it.
None of those involved are being identified by their real names, in order to protect both the victim and her saviour.
The latter, Madam Mary, who is in her 30s, told us the story. Rani declined to be interviewed.
Rani, 27, arrived in Singapore on 25Jan, said Madam Mary. She had travelled here with Neela, a woman from her home town who has worked in Singapore for more than 10 years.
A few months ago, when Neela was in India, the two had met there.
Neela offered Rani a job as a maid in Singapore, paying 10,000 rupees ($310) a month.
As Rani’s sister is also a maid here, Rani thought the deal was good, and agreed, hoping to use the money to pay for her daughter’s marriage some day.
Rani has three young children, but is separated from her husband in India.
She did not tell anyone about coming to work in Singapore because Neela had told her that her prospective employer would not like it.
Neela allegedly paid for and arranged Rani’s flight and visa .
But almost immediately after the plane landed in Singapore, Neela told Rani what she had really been brought here for - to be a prostitute.
She also learnt that Neela had been a prostitute all along, and not a maid, as she had thought.
They were met at Changi airport by Neela’s boyfriend, who drove them to a house in Geylang.
On the way there, Rani is said to have repeatedly told Neela to take her back to India.
Threatened
At the house, Neela and her boyfriend allegedly threatened to beat her if she did not obey them.
The next day, they made her stand outside the house, but within the compound, to get customers.
She was not to leave, but was asked to use a room in the house.
It was not clear how, but Rani managed to make one phone call to her sister, who had gone back to India on leave.
After hearing of Rani’s predicament, her sister gave her the number of her Singaporean employer’s friend, Madam Mary.
Rani’s sister in India then called Madam Mary, to tell her about Rani’s distress call and pleaded with her to help.
But there was nothing much Madam Mary could do then except wait by the phone.
Around 4pm that day, she got a call from a man who said he was with a woman named Rani.
The man said they were on the second storey of a double-storey house on Geylang Lorong 24.
He said he had been walking by the house when Rani, who was standing outside, grabbed his hand and pleaded with him to let her to use his handphone.
Before Madam Mary could ask more, the phone line went dead.
At around 7pm, another man called. He asked Madam Mary if she was Rani’s employer, and said Rani wanted her help.
Said Madam Mary: “I told him to call 999, but he said he dared not use his phone to dial 999. He asked me to go to the house if I wanted to help her.”
The man then ended the call.
Three hours later, at 10pm, a third man called. He said Rani was crying outside the house and was wearing a white sari with black dots.
He passed the phone to Rani. Madam Mary said she asked Rani why the phone call from the first man was cut off abruptly.
Rani told her that the first man was caught by the “prostitution leader”, who threw his phone away and beat him up.
Madam Mary said the third man was also too afraid to help.
She decided there was nothing much she could do then, and went to sleep.
The next morning, she made a police report. And that afternoon, she said, she got a friend to drive her to Geylang Lorong 24.
“Sure enough, I saw this Indian woman in a white sari with black dots standing outside a house, crying,” she said.
But she did not stop or approach the woman because she was afraid of the “gangsters”.
That night, around 11pm, a fourth man, who introduced himself as Appu, called her.
Appu said he was passing by the house when Rani pulled him in, crying for help. And this man, finally, was ready to help.
Madam Mary told him to try his best to get Rani out of the house and into a taxi.
She told Appu to give her telephone number to the taxi driver. She also told him to be discreet and try to avoid trouble.
At 2.30am, Appu called again.
According to Madam Mary, he said he was trying his best to help Rani, but was having difficulty because the area was “surrounded by prostitution leaders”.
At 4.35am, Madam Mary received a call from a taxi driver.
The cabby said he had a passenger by the name of Rani.
Madam Mary said she checked with the cabby if Rani was alone, before directing him to drive to herhome.
The taxi arrived about 45 minutes later.
Madam Mary, who lives with her husband and children, said she paid the taxi fare and let Rani into her home.
After taking a shower, Rani rested.
Later that morning, she told Madam Mary the whole story.
And that was when Madam Mary found out that Appu was not really the rare gentleman willing to help a woman in distress.
It turned out that Appu had managed to take Rani out of the Geylang house, only to check into a hotel nearby. He then allegedly asked Rani for sex in return for his help.
Rani told Madam Mary that she felt that she had no choice and agreed, as she did not want to return to the Geylang house.
She said she did not have sex with any of the other men.
Madam Mary said: “Rani also told me that there are close to 40 prostitutes from India and Bangladesh in that house, and about five are being held against their will.”
When Madam Mary asked why Rani did not approach the police who patrolled the area, Rani said she had not seen any police cars stop, to give her a chance to run out to them.
Now, Madam Mary is worried. She claimed she heard from Rani’s sister, who is still in India, that Neela was there, offering a reward of 100,000 rupees for information about Rani.
Said Madam Mary: “I don’t know how to help Rani now. I am worried for my family and myself.”
She said Rani was scared to go back to India, though she had her passport with her. She was also scared to stay on in Singapore.
A police spokesman declined comment as investigations are on, but noted that there was no indication at this point of any syndicate being involved.
You should be applauded for providing the articles and making the effort to provide the useful information you do. Keep up the great work & happy blogging!
Zea
After study just a few of the weblog posts on your website now, and I truly like your approach of blogging. I bookmarked it to my bookmark website list and might be checking again soon. Pls check out my site as effectively and let me know what you think. online casinos
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