S’porean woman appears on US ‘worst of worst criminal aliens' list for forcing 23 women into prostitution

A third Singaporean has been named on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s list of “worst of worst criminal aliens”.

Jing Emtage, 54, was arrested in May 2023 with her husband following an investigation that began in 2021.

She was convicted of operating a prostitution ring disguised as legitimate massage parlours, it was previously reported.

She is held at the an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) processing centre in Washington.

Crimes

Nine massage parlours belonging to the couple were shut down during the two-year operation by authorities.

A total of 23 women who had been trafficked and forced to provide sexual services were rescued.

The Singaporean woman was sentenced to two years and two months' jail on Jul. 25, 2025.

She was charged with seven counts of promoting prostitution in the second degree.

Her husband Gerald Emtage, 49, was given 38 months’ jail for promoting prostitution.

The punishment meted out to both of them includes a 12-month jail term each for money laundering.

Prosecutors said the couple made “significant profits”.

The couple lived in a house that apparently cost more than US$1 million (S$1.28 million).

There were no records of wages being paid to the dozens of women who lived in the massage parlours.

The couple had more than US$600,000 (S$768,000) in cash when arrested.

How she met her husband

The woman ran a massage therapy business in Singapore before moving to the U.S. in January 2018.

While there, she met her husband.

They got married in December 2019, according to her sentencing memorandum, it was reported.

The document said the Covid-19 pandemic caused financial losses for their legitimate massage business.

This caused them to offer illicit services.

The memorandum called for leniency.

Was waiting to be deported

The Seattle branch of ICE posted on social media in August 2026 that the Singaporean was waiting to be deported.

The “worst of worst criminal aliens” list on the Department of Homeland Security website was launched in December 2025.

Amos Yee was the first Singaporean added to the list when it was launched.

He was deported to Singapore in March 2026 after going to jail in the U.S. for child pornography and sexual grooming.

A second Singaporean, Lim Seok Pheng, was added to the list in February 2026.

She was arrested for suspected money laundering.

She then provided information, which led to the prosecution of those who were laundering money for Mexican drug cartels.