CB Foreign Talents invade my old drinking spot, turns it into sleazy Angeles City!

[Rogue Trader]

Circular Road area near Boat Quay is latest to get seedy reputation
Published on Sep 25, 2011

The stretch of shophouses in Circular Road behind Boat Quay is lined with pubs fronted by scantily clad women. -- ST PHOTOS: ALPHONSUS CHERN

By Daryl Chin

As soon as darkness descends, dozens of scantily clad women emerge under neon signs and hover around the entrances of their establishments.

'Darling,' they call out coyly to passers-by, 'come in for a drink, you'll have a good time, I promise.'

This is the new reality for many patrons who frequent Circular Road, a stretch of shophouses behind Boat Quay now packed with pubs with names like Kriselle and Mambo 5.

As many as 15 such bars have sprung up along both sides of the road in the past year, much to the consternation of other businesses there

BACKGROUND

Sleaze just migrates
'It seems that these bars have come up after other areas like Duxton have been cleaned up. If you ask the other business owners, they'd rather not have them here.'
Mr David Wu, a co-owner of bar Unca Bunca

---

Don't be too square
'The wild image of the place is exciting, so cleaning it up too much might cause many patrons to lose interest. It is a fine line to draw.'
Private banker Alan Lai

 

[Rogue Trader]

Re: CB Foreign Talents invade my old drinking spot, turns it into sleazy Angeles City

This is my favourite hangout!
I bring my child here to play with other pinoys
and learn their ewok language!

 

[GoldenDragon]

Re: CB Foreign Talents invade my old drinking spot, turns it into sleazy Angeles City

Trust me, the next big police ops will be there. Police need to be accountable and the easiest way is to raid. Solving the real root problem is never on their agenda. Never was.

 

[Ramseth]

Re: CB Foreign Talents invade my old drinking spot, turns it into sleazy Angeles City

Trust me, the next big police ops will be there. Police need to be accountable and the easiest way is to raid. Solving the real root problem is never on their agenda. Never was.

What has root cause got to with police? Outside police jobscope. That's a matter for voters and policians to sort out. Anyway this isn't news to me. I've cheonged Circular Road long ago with NTUC and even PAP guys. Not bad even then. Glad to hear that they've kept upgrading. Keep up the good work and if I'm free and in the mood, I may revisit them.

 

[GoldenDragon]

Re: CB Foreign Talents invade my old drinking spot, turns it into sleazy Angeles City

What has root cause got to with police? Outside police jobscope. That's a matter for voters and policians to sort out. Anyway this isn't news to me. I've cheonged Circular Road long ago with NTUC and even PAP guys. Not bad even then. Glad to hear that they've kept upgrading. Keep up the good work and if I'm free and in the mood, I may revisit them.

The root cause lies in not solving the problem. Tell me Ramseth, any legal KTVs/pubs with hostesses in S'pore? Why the need to raid when issuing WPs for PRC, Viet or Filipino hostesses according to size of outlets will solve the problem.

PAP guys with you patronising these joints is nothing compared with police bringing their overseas guests to KTV on offical trips. On the one hand, they raid coz these hostesses are workers without a valid work permit. On the other hand, police needs to entertain their guests in these places. Is this the right way to go?

 

[Ramseth]

Re: CB Foreign Talents invade my old drinking spot, turns it into sleazy Angeles City

The root cause lies in not solving the problem. Tell me Ramseth, any legal KTVs/pubs with hostesses in S'pore? Why the need to raid when issuing WPs for PRC, Viet or Filipino hostesses according to size of outlets will solve the problem.

PAP guys with you patronising these joints is nothing compared with police bringing their overseas guests to KTV on offical trips. On the one hand, they raid coz these hostesses are workers without a valid work permit. On the other hand, police needs to entertain their guests in these places. Is this the right way to go?

Of course it's the right way to go. Work permits are officially issued for hostesses and even outright prostitutes. The raids are against those without the permits. It's not practicable banning it completely, so that's to allow a certain number and keep them monitored. NTUC and PAP guys are very mild and timid in cheonging compared to police guys. For police, anything goes. Nobody's interested in the root problem since everybody agrees it's unsolvable since time immemorial.

 

[GoldenDragon]

Re: CB Foreign Talents invade my old drinking spot, turns it into sleazy Angeles City

The raids are against those without the permits.

Name me just 1 joint in S'pore that has licensed hostesses and you win.

 

[scroobal]

Re: CB Foreign Talents invade my old drinking spot, turns it into sleazy Angeles City

I don't think you understand what is going on. A reasonable person will know that if this Govt wants to wipe out anything, they can within a heartbeat. Places like Duxton would not have started with this if there was no nod from the authorities. It will always be unofficial, discrete and it was meant to keep the city lively and the puritans happy. Unfortunately genuine businessmen can't work on tacit agreement. Lido Palace if you care to check the records is held by proxy. Io is no different to SPH where OCBC and UOB held proxy shares of the Govt. Lido Palace original merchant processing agreement for card transaction was with Chase Manhattan Bank and then went to UOB. Then it switched back to OUB which bought over the business from Chase. It has nothing to do with better rates but something intriguing. In 2000' old man mentioned that the old time towkays complained that new businessmen do not how to entertain their clients. You can throw a rock at Lido Palace and nothing will happen. Arabesque they raid until no end. The owner still blur.

What has root cause got to with police? Outside police jobscope. That's a matter for voters and policians to sort out. Anyway this isn't news to me. I've cheonged Circular Road long ago with NTUC and even PAP guys. Not bad even then. Glad to hear that they've kept upgrading. Keep up the good work and if I'm free and in the mood, I may revisit them.

 

[Ramseth]

Re: CB Foreign Talents invade my old drinking spot, turns it into sleazy Angeles City

Name me just 1 joint in S'pore that has licensed hostesses and you win.

How to name? Most joints have a mix of work permits and no work permits. You win. But FYI, masseues, hostesses and sex workers (a.k.a. prostitutes) are all valid work permit categories. Check with MOM if you don't believe me.

I don't think you understand what is going on. A reasonable person will know that if this Govt wants to wipe out anything, they can within a heartbeat. Places like Duxton would not have started with this if there was no nod from the authorities. It will always be unofficial, discrete and it was meant to keep the city lively and the puritans happy. Unfortunately genuine businessmen can't work on tacit agreement. Lido Palace if you care to check the records is held by proxy. Io is no different to SPH where OCBC and UOB held proxy shares of the Govt. Lido Palace original merchant processing agreement for card transaction was with Chase Manhattan Bank and then went to UOB. Then it switched back to OUB which bought over the business from Chase. It has nothing to do with better rates but something intriguing. In 2000' old man mentioned that the old time towkays complained that new businessmen do not how to entertain their clients. You can throw a rock at Lido Palace and nothing will happen. Arabesque they raid until no end. The owner still blur.

You're actually saying what I was saying. There's no point and no benefit eradicting them even if it could be done in a heartbeat. Just keep in under control and enjoy!

 

[Rogue Trader]

Re: CB Foreign Talents invade my old drinking spot, turns it into sleazy Angeles City

Being a regular patron of Boat quay for the past 10 years, the invasion of these filthy pinoy joints within the past year has been very distasteful. All my regular drinking buddies have stopped going there. Boat quay is now like orchard towers and paramount hotel combined.

Only fat old angmor men like to hang out there now. It's disgusting!

 

[Rogue Trader]

Re: CB Foreign Talents invade my old drinking spot, turns it into sleazy Angeles City

Sexy hostesses in Boat Quay soliciting openly
Lianhe Wanbao
- 3 hrs 19 mins ago

Circular Road at Boat Quay is fast becoming a red-light district. In a short span of one year, 15 new nightclubs with names like Kriselle and Mambo 5 have opened in the area.

During the evenings, sexy hostesses exposing their bras and bearing their legs in short skirts and fishnet stockings can be seen soliciting openly outside these nightclubs. Some call out alluringly to passer-bys with affectionate names like "darling", tempting them to "come in for a drink, you won't regret it". Some even resort to using force to drag them into these clubs.

The growth of these nightclubs has caused much annoyance to the other businesses in the same area. A beauty salon owner said that the situation is getting worse. Her shop is located in between two nightclubs and a lot of her customers are complaining that they are being harassed. Some businesses such as Lunch Actually, a dating agency, even decided to close its operations there.

MP Denise Phua Lay Peng said she also noticed an increase of these nightclubs and intends to discuss with the relevant authorities to see what can be done.