Dear PM Lee,
On behalf of the residents at Jalan Suka, especially my elderly mother, I am urging you to look into the matter of the worsening security in this area.I
have written to URA to ascertain why so many residential units here have been converted and are in the process of turning into brothels. The URA officer whom I have corresponded with has clearly stated that the units at Jalan Suka are meant for residential and institutional purposes, not commercial use like brothels. The URA officer added that we should approach the Singapore Police Force (SPF) instead.
I have been in contact with my MP and SPF regarding this issue for the last 5 years (at least), and more recently the DPM Teo Chee Hean, asking them to intervene as it is within their power to take action against the owners and brothel operators.
Strangely the replies which I have received so far are archaic and generic. Their standard replies are predictable – “We are cognizant of the situation”, “We will forward the feedback to the relevant department” and “We will step up enforcement against the streetwalkers under the Women’s Charter”.
SPF has been avoiding taking the most obvious, and probably the most effective way to deal with the matter systemically; to take direct action against the owners and brothel operators!
I have serious doubts about whether our pleas are really heard and whether the safety and well-being of Singapore citizens matter. Every day and every night, we are victimised by the incessant noise created by large crowds of foreign workers filling the streets, streetwalkers chatting loudly and blasting music on their radio/mobile phones in order to keep them awake throughout the day.
Pimps have become the de facto authority on our street. Last Sunday (8 July 2012), a pimp tried to intimidate my girlfriend when she was driving out of the lane! The pimp slammed his hands on my girlfriend’s car and she is still traumatised by the incident.
Peddlers selling contraband cigarettes and illegal gambling brazenly operate in the open, and to make matter worse, my immediate neighbouring unit has become a brothel and from where I stand I can see an opposite unit is being renovated and may soon be converted into another brothel.
We have not been resting well either in the day or at night, and it is has taken a toll on us, emotionally and physically.
I have been following your speeches PM Lee, you stated a desire to begin a new chapter for Singaporeans after the watershed election and to build a more inclusive society, yet as Singaporeans, we still feel so neglected and helpless.
PM Lee, we urge you to take a personal interest on this matter as we have not only lost faith in the policing ability and authority of SPF in this area; they seem only interested in sending patrol cars and police officers on foot on rare occasions which hardly brings any improvement to the situation, given their brief and inconsequential presence.
I also have doubts whether our previous correspondence to DPM Teo and the relevant departments have been taken seriously at all. Otherwise, why has no concrete action been taken? Could this be another case of negligence, just like the one uncovered by the recent MRT inquiry about LTA?
I’ve included the latest image taken outside my house for your perusal. For your information, Jalan Suka has two surveillance cameras installed and the footage (if the cameras are even operational at all) will prove that I am not exaggerating.
Please help us! We just want a safe and reasonably peaceful neighbourhood and I believe this is not too much to ask for.
Yours sincerely
Adam Goi
