G
General Veers
Guest
Because budget hotels are not going away and most men are not complaining.
Apr 18, 2010
Budget hotels upset residents
Residents are upset over influx of prostitutes into some neighbourhoods
<!-- by line --> By Tan Dawn Wei
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<!-- story content : start -->WHEN businessman Ng Choon Beng moved into his terrace house in Upper Serangoon Road three years ago, the neighbourhood was a quiet, leafy residential area with great food. Then, Hotel 81 and Fragrance Hotel came up just a few doors away and started offering hourly rates. 'There wasn't much activity at first, but we see a lot more illicit activities going on these days,' said Mr Ng, 38, of his estate, which is next to Upper Serangoon Shopping Centre, about 1km from Kovan MRT station.
'Sometimes cars drive up right outside our house and park there, and then we see these girls and their clients walking towards the hotels; we've even witnessed money transactions taking place.' When his wife walks to a nearby provision shop to buy groceries, men waiting around the hotels and KTV lounges would stare at her or even proposition her. Mr Ng's neighbours are equally upset by the new people on the block. They are unwelcome in a residential area and they have caused parking woes, said residents. Since budget hotels began springing up in residential areas like Kovan, Tiong Bahru and Balestier in the past two years, sex workers have also started appearing.
Read the full story in The Sunday Times.
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<Additional reporting by Kueh Xiu Qing, Ng Hui Ying and Debbie Kwong
