Man on trial for aiding sex work by booking hotel rooms, setting up equipment

SINGAPORE: A man went on trial on Monday (May 4) for aiding in the sex work of two women by booking hotel rooms and setting up inflatable beds in exchange for S$1,050 (US$824) each.

Zhang Kai, a 47-year-old China national, is contesting two counts under the Women's Charter of knowingly receiving gratification as a reward for a service that aided sex work.

He is also contesting a third charge of obstructing justice for deleting a WeChat application from his phone.

The prosecution in its opening statement said the offences were committed between late February 2025 and early March 2025, with a syndicate involved.

It will call at least 20 witnesses and adduce evidence such as police reports, scene photos and WeChat messages along with items seized from the two hotel rooms.

The prosecution will also lead evidence to show how Zhang procured hotel rooms and set up inflatable beds in both rooms for the women.

Zhang had suspected that the women were in Singapore for sex work, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Xu Sijia.

He had deleted the WeChat app as he had not heard from his co-accused, Malaysian Goh Boon Hong, said Ms Xu.

Goh was sentenced to a year's jail and fined in July 2025.

Ms Xu added that Zhang suspected something had happened and wanted to distance himself from trouble.

POLICE OFFICERS TESTIFY

The trial opened with two police officers testifying for the prosecution.

The first, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Kelvin Tan, described how he was tasked to conduct a "test call" on a suspected vice syndicate known as Fanza SG.

He said there was a phone number provided in an advertisement by Fanza SG, so he texted the number to book the services of a Japanese woman in order to mount a vice operation against the "vice operator".

The online advertisement stated "soapland services" for a certain price.

Prompted by the prosecutor to explain "soapland services", ASP Tan said: "Based on my years of investigation into (vice syndicates), this soapland service means that the vice worker will provide massages before sexual service. They will provide massages with ... some soap item, using their body on the customer before proceeding for sexual service."

ASP Tan said the person on the other end of the line replied and said they could accept his booking for Mar 7, 2025, which was two days later.

He was told to wait at Tower 1 at Marina Bay Sands (MBS) for further instructions on the room number.

ASP Tan, who was in the Specialised Crime Branch of the Criminal Investigation Department, said the operation was to apprehend the people controlling the syndicate.

He said the police received information that Goh was one of the members running the syndicate and would be arriving in Singapore on Mar 7, 2025 via Changi Airport.

The police thus kept a lookout for him and followed him.

After Goh was arrested and gave information on where the sex workers were stationed, ASP Tan headed up to a room on the 27th floor to conduct a raid on one of the sex workers.

He and his team knocked on the hotel door and identified themselves as the police before getting a security guard to open the door.

"We entered and found one female Japanese in the room, and from our interview, she speaks very little English," said ASP Tan.

He said they communicated with the woman using Google Translate and she gave them her working name, which matched the advertisement.

Describing the hotel room, ASP Tan said there was a makeshift inflatable bed on top of the bathtub in the toilet, and condoms and lubricant near the bed, along with some money in a drawer.

The second prosecution witness, Station Inspector (SI) Nabil Nizam Mudin, testified that his job scope includes raiding locations where vice activities are conducted.

He said Goh was the person who facilitated the Fanza SG Telegram group, arranging for customers for the girls advertised on Telegram and collecting money from the "vice workers".

When Goh went to the concierge of the MBS hotel to retrieve his luggage, the police officers detained him at the driveway and took him to the concierge room where they interviewed him.

SI Nabil said Goh was "very forthcoming" and told the police about the two rooms the women were in. He also handed over the passcode to one of his phones.

SI Nabil said information was received that Zhang was the one who booked one of the hotel rooms during the operation on Mar 7, 2025.

When the police ascertained that he was at the MBS casino, they moved in and found Zhang in a room with casino staff.

The police later arrested him.

Zhang, who was unrepresented, did not ask questions in cross-examination. However, he stated that it was the casino's security officers who first took him into the room, and not the police officers.

"It was at that point when I deleted the WeChat application, and I just want to say that this action of mine at that point of time shows it's not an obstruction of justice, because I did not know the police officers were coming in next," said Zhang via a Mandarin interpreter.

"I thought that the security officers were going to ask me with regard to the selling and booking of hotel rooms and that was why I deleted the application," he said.

The trial continues.

If convicted of knowingly receiving gratification for providing a service that aids in sex work, he could be jailed for up to seven years and fined up to S$100,000.

For obstructing justice, an offender can be jailed for up to seven years, fined, or both.