Woman, 44, who secretly ran brothel in massage parlour in S’pore insists on innocence, judge dismisses appeal

A woman who secretly operated a brothel under the guise of a massage parlour lost an appeal against her conviction and sentence of 14 months in jail.

Mo Xuekui, 44, was found guilty of procuring a woman for prostitution, managing a brothel, and living on immoral earnings.

Mo appeared in court for her appeal hearing on Mar. 18, but the appeal judge ultimately dismissed her appeal.

Claimed the worker who reported her was unreliable

During Mo's initial trial, the court heard that one of the workers working at the parlour filed a police report stating that she had been providing sexual services at the parlour on Carpenter Street under Mo’s instructions.

On Mar. 18, Mo's defence lawyer sought to challenge the reliability of this worker as a witness, reported Shin Min Daily News.

Mo claimed that she had threatened to terminate their employment relationship, and that the worker reported her to remain in Singapore and continue prostitution.

She also claimed that the worker did indeed continue prostitution in Singapore after the report was filed.

The prosecution countered that the worker had no reason to lie, as reporting Mo could have resulted in her exposing her prostitution and being deported.

Furthermore, Mo failed to provide evidence the worker had malicious intent.

Dissatisfied with outcome

The High Court judge ultimately ruled that Mo had failed to prove that the worker was an unreliable witness and dismissed the appeal.

After hearing the verdict, Mo requested to speak.

She claimed that she had only been working part-time and was not the manager of the massage parlour.

She also said that she had interviewed new employees alongside her boss, as her boss was not proficient in Mandarin.

Mo further argued that the worker who reported her could not recall her monthly salary or basic job duties when she first started work, from which she "inferred" that the worker was not genuinely there to work.

At this point, the High Court judge interrupted her, asking her lawyer to explain the significance of the judgment again, and requesting the interpreter to translate the full judgment into her language.

Background

In November 2021, Mo approached a man named Chan Boon Huat, asking if he was interested in buying a profitable beauty parlour for S$25,000.

The business operated under the sole proprietorship Huixia.

Chan viewed the unit in mid-December 2021 and decided to buy it, later employing Mo to manage the business with a monthly salary of S$2,500.

Huixia signed a lease with the landlord for a monthly rent of S$5,395.

To employ more foreign workers, Chan registered an additional company, Xiao Xue Pte Ltd, using the same business address.

Worker filed police report

On Feb. 4, 2022, one of the workers filed a police report stating that she had been providing sexual services at a massage parlour on Carpenter Street under Mo’s instructions.

She was arrested on Feb. 7 for an offence under the Women’s Charter 1961.

According to the prosecution, the worker had arrived in Singapore on Dec. 19, 2021, and began work after completing her Covid-19 isolation.

On her second day, Mo allegedly told her to provide sexual services and showed her a bottle of condoms.

The worker testified that all the sex workers lived in the unit. Mo also provided the contact of a webmaster who helped upload photos and pricing details on a website for their sexual services.

Three days later, the worker told Mo she no longer wanted to provide sexual services. However, she was told she had to pay S$4,500 to leave her employment, so she continued working to pay off the amount.

Out of the S$150 fee earned from each customer, Mo took a S$50 cut.

Police raid

Following the police report, a raid was conducted a few days later. Officers found two female Chinese nationals and one Vietnamese national in the parlour.

One of the ladies was discovered scantily clothed and on top of a male customer on a treatment bed, suspected of engaging in sexual activity.

Two customers present at the parlour were interviewed and later testified that they had found advertisements for massages and sexual services on a website, which listed prices for each type of service.

They said they paid between S$150 and S$180 for sexual services.

Police also seized a container with condoms and a piece of paper translating English phrases into Chinese. The document included phrases such as “Can we shower together?” and “Can I kiss you?”

A two-page ledger listing the sex workers’ names, timings, and room numbers used for services was also recovered.

Mo was arrested that same day when she returned to the unit. Officers seized three of her mobile phones.

Investigations later found a WeChat conversation between Mo and a worker discussing whether to replace certain photographs with sexier ones.

Top photos from Canva and Shin Min Daily News