Vice activities in Tanjong Pagar Plaza massage parlours, beauty salons: Residents voice concern
Is it another Bukit Timah Shopping Centre?
Several residents in Tanjong Pagar Plaza (TPP) have voiced concerns about the vice activities resulting from the concentration of massage establishments and beauty salons in the building.
Tanjong Pagar GRC MP Foo Cexiang revealed this in a social media post on Sept 20.
"There are several pre-schools in the plaza and parents are uneasy whenever their children go past these shops," he wrote.
"The majority of these businesses operate legitimately, but a few are casting a bad light on TPP and turning away residents, customers and potential businesses.
"When the reputation of TPP is affected, it will affect the overall business viability of the other tenants, which in turn will affect the residents who depend on this mall to meet their daily needs."
He explained that a significant number of the shops in the plaza were sold by HDB in the 1990s on about 80-year leases.
"HDB has limited regulatory levers over these shops. The shop owners want to maximise their rental yield," said Mr Foo.
"However, given the current relatively low footfall in TPP, only a small range of businesses can afford to pay higher rental to them - massage establishments and beauty salons being one of them."
He added that when the police catch businesses that conduct vice activities, they take action against the masseurs and business owners if they are complicit.
But the owners of the unit are much less likely to be complicit and may then find new business owners of similar trade to let their shops to.
"It is therefore not so straightforward to address the issue, which is why it has been such a long-standing problem," lamented Mr Foo.
"But enough is enough."
He said he had met with the police, Housing Board, the TPP Traders Association and town council last week.
"The police have conducted checks and raids on the massage establishments - including several in recent months," said the MP.
"Action has been taken against those found guilty of breaches and conducting vice activities. They will ramp up their checks and continue their enforcement action against such activities."
He added that he also asked the Ministry of National Development and HDB to consider buying back leases from owners of shops that had been sold, so that HDB is better able to curate the trade mix of shops and respond to resident needs.
"I have raised this as a Parliamentary Question in the upcoming sitting of Parliament," said Mr Foo.
"The Traders Association also agreed that having a better retail mix will benefit the shops in TPP in general - because it will help attract more residents and customers.
"They will think about potential businesses that can be attracted to set up shop in TPP, potentially some lighter F&B outfits."
But change will take time.
The MP said: "This transformation will take several years - but we are determined to do it with the support of all stakeholders and our residents. It is time to refresh Tanjong Pagar Plaza!"
Recently, a Bukit Timah resident expressed similar concerns about vice activities in the shopping centres in her area and wrote to multiple government agencies about it.
She claimed the massage parlours, pubs and beauty saloons at Bukit Timah Shopping Centre and Beauty World Centre are involved in vice under the guise of legitimate businesses.
