SINGAPORE — He worked for a prostitution ring for about two-and-a-half years, managing three brothels and advertising the services of sex workers on online forum Sammyboy.

Through these activities, Singaporean Lee Si Hong made profits of at least S$43,785 until he was arrested in September last year.

On Monday (Oct 7), the 38-year-old pleaded guilty to six charges under the Women’s Charter, and one other charge of abetting a Filipino woman to work as a self-employed foreigner under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act.

She had contacted Lee to express her interest in working in a vice syndicate to earn more money. Another man “hired” her as his foreign domestic worker and she was given a work permit, which she used to come to Singapore and work in the syndicate.

Another 18 charges will be taken into consideration when Lee is sentenced on Oct 22. He remains out on bail of S$25,000.

The court heard that in 2015, Lee first got to know someone identified only as “Boss”, who was based in Thailand.

That same year, Masilang Teodora Mista — the Filipino woman — contacted Lee. It was not stated how they knew each other.

After introducing her to Boss, she arrived in Singapore in October that year and was issued a work permit.

The next year in April, he agreed to help to bring Thai women into Singapore for prostitution. He was a freelance agent dealing with vehicle insurance matters at the time.

He liaised with the prostitutes before they arrived here, arranged for their travel, briefed them on the details of their working arrangements and asked for sexy photographs of themselves.

He then advertised their sexual services on Sammyboy. There were at least nine prostitutes involved in the syndicate.

Lee also made the bookings, managed the three brothels assigned to him, and personally collected the prostitutes’ earnings on a daily basis. The locations of the brothels were redacted in court documents.

Masilang worked to clean the prostitutes’ lodging, replenished items such as condoms and lubricants, and picked the women up from the airport.

The prostitutes charged their clients between S$150 and S$160 for two rounds of sexual services in a 90-minute session, typically working from 10.30am to midnight every day.

However, they were required to provide these services for about two dozen clients without being paid, before they were entitled to about S$80 for every client they serviced afterwards. The rest of their pay then went to Lee, and they were given S$20 daily for their meals.

BROTHELS RAIDED ON SAME DAY

From April 2016 to April 2018, Lee was paid S$1,000 every month for his work in the syndicate. After that, he split the profits equally with Boss until he was arrested on Sept 19, 2018.

On the day of the arrest, the police conducted raids simultaneously on the three brothels. Lee and two prostitutes were nabbed at one of the brothels, while six more sex workers were caught at the other two.

The authorities then raided Lee’s vehicle and home, seizing about S$3,000 in cash, several iPhones and boxes of condoms, among other items.

The next day, police officers arrested Masilang and Tan Yong Chong, the man who had “hired” her as his foreign domestic worker.

Masilang had earned between S$800 and S$1,500 a month for about two years working in the syndicate. She paid for her own monthly maid levy and met Tan every month to hand him some money based on their agreement.

Masilang and Tan were not charged but have been dealt with separately, Deputy Public Prosecutor Melina Chew told the court, though she did not give details.

The prosecution sought at least two years’ jail and a fine of S$56,000, saying that the brothels “clearly encroached into residential areas” and “created unease within neighbourhoods”.

Lee’s lawyer, Mr SS Dhillon, asked for 18 months’ jail instead. He said in mitigation that Lee is married to a foreigner with two children, and began working for the syndicate to pay for his stepdaughter’s international school fees because she was not eligible to enrol in a mainstream school.

“He has no previous convictions at all. This financial hardship drove him to earn this meagre income… it is unlikely that this law-abiding citizen will ever re-offend again,” the lawyer added.