SINGAPORE – A man who ran an online vice syndicate to recruit Japanese women for prostitution in Singapore was sentenced to a year’s jail and fined $4,000.

Goh Boon Hong, 25 , pleaded guilty to five charges on June 30 , including harbouring women for the purpose of prostitution and living on prostitution earnings.

In August 2024, Goh, who is Malaysian, was hired by a man named Wong Chi San to be a member of the syndicate.

Initially, Goh received a 10 per cent commission from the prostitution earnings. This was later increased to 20 per cent.

In January 2025, Goh took over the syndicate’s operations after Wong was arrested. Details of Wong’s case were not mentioned in court documents.

That month, a 26-year-old Japanese woman, identified in court documents as A1, accepted Goh’s invite to prostitute herself in Singapore from February to March.

A1 extended the invitation to her 27-year-old Japanese friend A2, who also accepted.

Over nine days at the Marina Bay Sands hotel, A1 provided sexual services to 44 customers. She earned $14,800 from them, and was paid 1.24 million yen (S$10,900) by Goh.

A2 served 37 customers, earning $11,100. Goh paid her 830,000 yen.

Goh worked with an accomplice, Chinese national Zhang Kai, who booked the hotel rooms.

On top of the hotel room charges, Goh paid Zhang $50 per room per day for procuring the hotel rooms.

Zhang would also help Goh to set up inflatable beds and massage gels in the toilets of the hotel rooms.

Initially, Goh paid Zhang $500 for each toilet set-up . This was subsequently increased to $600 after Zhang complained of the risk involved in carrying out these prostitution operations.

Goh also paid Zhang $2,100 for his services over the nine-day period and kept the rest of the prostitution earnings.

The offences came to light on March 7 when the police conducted an anti-vice operation at Marina Bay Sands and Goh was arrested.

Zhang’s case is still before the courts, with his pre-trial conference set for July 17.

Those convicted of harbouring a woman for the purpose of prostitution can be jailed for up to seven years and fined up to $100,000.

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