SINGAPORE - Circular Road at Boat Quay is fast becoming a red-light district. In a short span of one year, 15 new nightclubs with names like Kriselle and Mambo 5 have opened in the area.
During the evenings, sexy hostesses exposing their bras and bearing their legs in short skirts and fishnet stockings can be seen soliciting openly outside these nightclubs. Some call out alluringly to passer-bys with affectionate names like "darling", tempting them to "come in for a drink, you won't regret it". Some even resort to using force to drag them into these clubs.
The growth of these nightclubs has caused much annoyance to the other businesses in the same area. A beauty salon owner said that the situation is getting worse. Her shop is located in between two nightclubs and a lot of her customers are complaining that they are being harassed. Some businesses such as Lunch Actually, a dating agency, even decided to close its operations there.
MP Denise Phua Lay Peng said she also noticed an increase of these nightclubs and intends to discuss with the relevant authorities to see what can be done.
