http://business.asiaone.com/Business...30-183125.html
Mon, Nov 30, 2009
The New Paper
Breast-beating over 'no prostitutes' signs at condo
A CONDOMINIUM in Geylang has raised eyebrows with its blatant objection to prostitutes living there.
Every gate in Wing Fong Court, at Lorong 14 Geylang, has signs stating in both English and Chinese: "This residential apartment disapproves hookers from staying here (sic)."
The 218-unit condominium has been around for 12 years.
The blunt signs please some residents who do not want *** workers as neighbours.
Miss W H Liu, 38, a teacher, said that before the signs were put up, she had been approached for ***ual services while walking along the pavement outside the condominium.
She said: "Some men think all women in Geylang are harlots.
"Since the signs were put up, I've not been approached outside my home."
But Mr David Broughton, 37, a British expatriate who works in the financial sector, said the signs had deterred him from renting an apartment there.
He recalled: "Last year, when I went to view a unit there with a property agent, the signs made me wonder if the place was full of prostitutes.
"Even though the agent kept telling me that Geylang was a good area with good public transport and food readily available, I decided not to stay there."
Not working
The measure does not seem to have worked over the years, said Mr Robert Chan, secretary of Wing Fong's management committee.
He said: "The signs have been up for many years, but they're not effective because you can't police all tenants. Sometimes, someone rents a unit and then sub-lets it to prostitutes."
He added that the signs may put off potential buyers and tenants.
He said: "You draw attention to the problem and this causes the value of our property to drop." But Mr Chan said the committee has decided to keep the signs to make it clear that the condominium does not welcome prostitutes who ply their trade there.
In November 2001, The Straits Times reported that 1,100 residents in Wing Fong Mansions and Wing Fong Court signed a petition appealing to the police to curb vice in the area.
Police statistics show 5,947 female foreigners were arrested islandwide for vice activities last year, compared with 5,402 arrested in 2007.
Police do not have the numbers of prostitutes arrested in specific areas.
Property analysts The New Paper spoke to said they have not heard of any other condominium having similar measures as Wing Fong Court and warned that such moves could backfire.
Mr Albert Lu of C & H Realty said unless many prostitutes entertain clients in the apartments, the presence of hookers would not substantially affect the value of the property.
Instead, putting up such signs would cause the value of the property to fall, he added. Mr Mohamed Ismail, chief executive of PropNex, agreed.
Discouraging buyers
He said: "The signs will put off potential buyers, who will think something is wrong with the place.
"I don't think such a move will help the home owners, because it's hard to police the tenants." There are more discreet ways of keeping prostitutes away, said Mr Donald Han, managing director of property consultancy Cushman & Wakefield.
For example, at Stratford Court in Tanah Merah, all unit owners are asked to declare the names of their tenants, said Mr Lionel de Souza, chairman of the condominium's management committee (MC).
Security guards are also trained to look out for women who bring different men to their units every day.
But Mr de Souza, a private investigator and a former policeman, said there is no fool-proof method to keep prostitutes away.
He said: "We have no right to chase tenants out even if they are found to be prostitutes. "Such measures serve only as a deterrent to home owners so they won't rent their units to dubious characters."
But he has not encountered any such cases at Stratford Court so far. Mr Chng Hee Kok, secretary of Elizabeth Towers' MC, agreed it is difficult to regulate sub-tenants.
He said: "The MC can only determine who is a legitimate tenant (on a long-term basis) versus one who leases out the unit like a hotel with short-term visitors."
This article was first published in The New Paper.
