As Singapore’s Orchard Towers closes its nightclub doors, sex workers worry for their futures
- In its heyday, Orchard Towers – known locally as ‘4 Floors of Whores’ – was full of go-go bars, strip clubs and discos that drew in hordes of crowds
- Now, those nightclubs that remain have until the end of the month to move out, leaving exotic dancers, live bands and sex workers in the lurch
Bryan Ong grew up in Singapore. His upbringing was anything but typical.
His father, Murray, was a seaman who often travelled to Brazil and dreamed of bringing the country’s electric parties to the city state. In 1998, when Ong was 9, his dad opened a nightclub and named it Ipanema after the bossa nova song The Girl From Ipanema.
But what really sets the nightclub – and Ong’s childhood – apart was the club’s location.
Ipanema is in Singapore’s Orchard Towers. In its heyday, the building was full of go-go bars, strip clubs, and discos that drew in hordes of people seeking a good time. Locally it’s known as “Four Floors of Whores”.
Foreign nationals are seen gathered outside a nightclub in Singapore’s Orchard Towers following a major police anti-vice operation in 2001. Photo: Singapore Police Force via AFP
“In the ‘90s, I grew up in a childcare centre right here in Orchard Towers,” Ong said. “It was packed. There were people everywhere, on all four floors.”
Orchard Towers has since “toned down massively”, Ong said. It’s still home to Singapore’s most famous unofficial red-light district, where freelance sex workers ply their trade, but time is running out.
In August, authorities began forcing nightclubs at Orchard Towers to shut down – and Ipanema was no exception. Police told local paper The Straits Times that concerns with “public safety, vice activities, and nuisance” led to its decision to do away with the nightclubs
Now Orchard Towers is transforming into another neighbourhood shopping centre, with a handful of new tenants filling up the empty spaces, selling antiques, carpets, and photo frames. Even as the new crowd moves in, the livelihoods of the nightclub owners and the sex workers who depended on Orchard Towers for income are at stake.
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The Singapore Police Force declined to comment on this story.
Ong was interviewed in Ipanema on a recent Tuesday night at the nightclub’s moving-out party.
It was 11pm, and the nightclub was the busiest spot in the building, with dozens of partygoers dancing, drinking beer, and filling up their plates with food from the closing-party buffet. Contrary to Orchard Tower’s reputation, the nightclub didn’t come across as sleazy.
The building has a lingering reputation as dangerous, largely because of two high-profile murders that happened there in 2002 and 2019. But in recent years, violent crime at Orchard Towers has diminished, with only one brawl reported since the impending shutdown of nightclubs was announced last year.
Ong said there’s more to Orchard Towers than its sordid reputation.
“The nightlife industry sustains a lot of families,” he said. “The standard of living in Singapore is very high. The nightlife industry allows people to take on a second job.”
Abe Isaac is the owner of a nightclub called Naughty Girl. In the 1970s, Isaac’s father converted a department store into a popular nightclub in Orchard Towers. “It was an R&B joint where American sailors used to go. It was a party club where we had all-US bands at that time performing,” Isaac said over the phone.
As the area around Orchard Towers developed into a high-end enclave full of luxury shopping centres and five-star hotels, Orchard Towers went the other way: it got raunchier and seedier.
After decades of trying to keep brawls away from his nightclub, Isaac now faces a new challenge: keeping his business alive. He estimated it would cost S$400,000 to S$500,000 (about US$300,000 to US$375,000), to take over another venue and stay afloat. Banks, he said, are hesitant to loan that sum to nightclubs.
Authorities gave him until July 31 to move out.
“I’ve looked all over Singapore, but there’s no place to go. My club is 4,000 square feet, with a live band, a stage, and all-Singapore talent,” Isaac said.
A file photo from 2004 shows the entrance to a building along Singapore’s Orchard Road where foreign sex workers looked for customers in nightclubs. Photo: AFP
“It took 40 years for Orchard Towers to become an entertainment centre that’s known all over the world. But it’s gone in just a couple of months and destroyed the whole industry,” he added.
In Singapore, sex workers must apply for a yellow card, which allows them to work in brothels in Geylang, the city state’s sanctioned red-light district.
But according to Project X, a non-profit organisation that’s supported sex workers in Singapore since 2008, there are many rules to qualify for this card. Workers must be between 21 and 35, cannot be male, and must come from an approved list of countries. Sex workers are also not allowed to have romantic relationships with Singaporeans.
Over the years, many sex workers saw more opportunities a few miles west of Geylang at Orchard Towers. It’s become known as Singapore’s unofficial red-light district.
Vanessa Ho, the executive director of Project X, said the impact of the closures extended far beyond the nightclub owners. “Orchard Towers has been a space for adult entertainment since the ‘90s. There are different types of workers: bar hostesses, bouncers, bartenders, chefs, musicians, performers, erotic dancers, and, of course, there are also sex workers, erotic masseuses, and street-based sex workers,” Ho said, adding that their livelihoods would all be affected.
Sex workers at Orchard Towers come from many countries, including Kenya, Cambodia, Argentina, Australia, and the Philippines, Ho said.
While sex work through licensed brothels is legal in Singapore, it’s illegal in all other parts of the city, including in or around Orchard Towers.
As the nightclubs at Orchard Towers inch closer to the closing date on July 31, remnants of their colourful history remain. The doors of Top 5, a popular club in the building, are still plastered with vintage photos of exotic dancers and live bands.
A sex shop in Geylang, Singapore’s state sanctioned red-light district, pictured in 2007. Photo: AFP
But the outlook for the people who’ve kept these places running is bleak.
“The bands tell me they have nowhere else to play,” said Isaac, the owner of Naughty Girl. “I feel sorry for my staff – where can they go? Customers are very disappointed. It’s over.”
In hopes of retaining his staff, he’s planning to open a restaurant in the revamped Orchard Towers.
Ong has found a new venue for his nightclub on Cecil Street – about 4km (2.5 miles) from Orchard Towers – and dozens of long-time customers have said they’ll continue visiting Ipanema in its new location.
As for the sex workers, Ho said they’d see a sharp decline in customers, threatening their livelihood at Orchard Towers.
“Many of these migrant workers pay hefty agent fees or have debts owing to their agents,” she said. “The loss of income can have a severe impact on their ability to pay back their loans, further spiralling them into debt and, for some, poverty.”
