Foreigners allegedly working illegally in Boat Quay area

Eastern European women on tourist visas get men to buy them drinks at 100 a glass

- Andrew Wong

Foreigners have been spotted working illegally in the Boat Quay area, even as the authorities continued their crackdown on illicit activities at entertainment outlets around Singapore.

Women from Eastern European bloc countries including Russia, Ukraine, Georgia and Belarus have been operating outside a pub in Circular Road, where they get men to buy them a "special" margarita drink at $100 a glass.

It buys the customer time with the women, until the drink is finished. Payment is made to employees of the bar.

The Sunday Times understands the arrangement sometimes leads to offers of sexual services for a fee.

Entertainment outlets in the area were targeted in a series of police raids in 2022 and 2023, with the authorities seeking to crack down on illicit activities including solicitation.

In 2022, before Covid-19 restrictions were fully lifted at public entertainment and nightlife joints, police checked more than 350 people and arrested dozens at outlets around town, including in the Circular Road area.

Boat Quay and other entertainment districts like Little India, Geylang and Chinatown were again targeted in raids conducted between Nov 15 and Dec 18, 2023.