MP vows refresh of Tanjong Pagar Plaza amid concerns over vice activities there

Tanjong Pagar GRC MP Foo Cexiang has vowed to push for a refresh of Tanjong Pagar Plaza (TPP) amid concerns over vice activities at some beauty and massage parlours there.

- Rhea Yasmine

In a Facebook post on Sept 20, Mr Foo said he had received feedback from residents about the concentration of such shops at the shopping centre, especially around children.

“There are several preschools in the plaza and parents are uneasy whenever their children go past these shops,” said Mr Foo.

To address the issue, Mr Foo said he has had meetings with the police, Housing Board, Tanjong Pagar Plaza Traders Association and town council to discuss ways to refresh the retail mix there.

According to checks by The Straits Times, there are at least four preschools and tuition centres at TPP, which is about a five-minute walk from Tanjong Pagar MRT station.

ST visited the shopping centre on Sept 22 and saw around 17 units on the ground floor offering beauty and nail care services, while four others featured massage services.

They made up more than a third of the roughly 60 units open on that floor.

Of the more than 30 units on the second floor, around 20 of them were hair, beauty and massage parlours.

Inside one beauty parlour, there was a single cushioned seat near the door, with the rest of the salon behind curtains. Outside, two women were talking, pausing at times to invite men walking past to enter their shop.