All nightlife outlets at Orchard Towers cease public entertainment except one
Nightclubs and bars at Orchard Towers were informed in 2022 that their public entertainment licences would not be renewed beyond May 31, 2023. ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO
The party has all but stopped at Orchard Towers, after nightlife outlets there ceased public entertainment operations on Tuesday.
The police said in a statement the same day that only one establishment – which it did not name – got the green light to continue operating, having been granted an interim two-month extension of its public entertainment licence.
It had made an appeal to the Public Entertainment Appeal Board, and can continue providing public entertainment until Sept 30, or until a decision on its appeal is made, whichever is earlier.
A KTV at the entrance of Orchard Towers. Marielle Descalsota/Insider© Marielle Descalsota/Insider
For decades Singapore's Orchard Towers has been known for its nightlife and sex tourism. Authorities have given the nightclubs until July 31 to move out. The crackdown on nightclubs threatens workers' livelihoods and the loss of income could cause some workers to spiral into debt.
Bryan Ong grew up in Singapore. His upbringing was anything but typical. His father, Murray, was a seaman who often traveled to Brazil and dreamed of bringing the country's electric parties to Singapore. In 1998, when Ong was 9, his dad opened a nightclub and named it Ipanema after the bossa nova song "The Girl From Ipanema." But what really sets the nightclub — and Ong's childhood — apart is the nightclub's location. Ipanema is in Singapore's Orchard Towers. In its heyday, the building was full of go-go bars, strip clubs, and discos that drew in hordes of people seeking a good time. Locally it's known as "Four Floors of Whores." "In the '90s, I grew up in a childcare center right here in Orchard Towers," Ong told me. "It was packed. There were people everywhere, on all four floors."
Orchard Towers has since "toned down massively," Ong said. It's still home to Singapore's most famous unofficial red-light district, where freelance sex workers ply their trade, but time is running out. In August, authorities began forcing nightclubs at Orchard Towers to shut down — and Ipanema was no exception. A police spokesperson told The Straits Times, Singapore's national paper, that concerns with "public safety, vice activities, and nuisance" led to its decision to do away with nightclubs. Now Orchard Towers is transforming into another neighborhood mall, with a handful of new tenants filling up the empty spaces, selling antiques, carpets, and photo frames. Even as the new crowd moves in, the livelihoods of the nightclub owners and the sex workers who depended on Orchard Towers for income are at stake.
Orchard Towers management takes 5 unit owners to court over alleged illegal businesses on their premises
A legal tussle has been playing out in court between the management of Orchard Towers, and five proprietors and their occupiers.
The five cases were taken to the High Court amid claims that several by-laws have been breached. According to court documents filed in February this year, the unit owners were accused of breaching the by-laws, which involved allowing the operation of illegal businesses and providing sexual services under the guise of massage or beauty parlours on their premises.
Other complaints include excessive noise from these locations, failing to be adequately clothed, and behaving in a manner and using language that would negatively affect the building's reputation. Closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage of alleged touting, physical grabbing of members of the public, and inappropriate dressing were submitted to the courts. Once known for its raunchy nightlife, Orchard Towers has been trying to revamp its image.
As Singapore’s Orchard Towers closes its nightclub doors, sex workers worry for their futures
Foreign nationals are seen gathered outside a nightclub in Singapore’s Orchard Towers following a major police anti-vice operation in 2001. Photo: Singapore Police Force via AFP
Orchard Towers has since “toned down massively”. It’s still home to Singapore’s most famous unofficial red-light district, where freelance sex workers ply their trade, but time is running out. In August, authorities began forcing nightclubs at Orchard Towers to shut down. Police told local paper The Straits Times that concerns with “public safety, vice activities, and nuisance” led to its decision to do away with the nightclubs.
Now Orchard Towers is transforming into another neighbourhood shopping centre, with a handful of new tenants filling up the empty spaces, selling antiques, carpets, and photo frames. Even as the new crowd moves in, the livelihoods of the nightclub owners and the sex workers who depended on Orchard Towers for income are at stake. The building has a lingering reputation as dangerous, largely because of two high-profile murders that happened there in 2002 and 2019. But in recent years, violent crime at Orchard Towers has diminished, with only one brawl reported since the impending shutdown of nightclubs was announced last year.
Orchard Towers nightlife outlets may be allowed to operate until July, subject to conditions
This deadline extension will facilitate Orchard Towers’ nightlife outlets’ transition to alternative arrangements. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG
Orchard Towers’ public entertainment (PE) outlets can now renew their PE licences till this July if they meet the requirements for renewal. There will be no further renewal of PE licences after that.
On July 15, 2022, the police had informed business operators and property owners of Orchard Towers’ PE outlets that it will not grant new PE licences, nor renew PE licences for existing PE outlets beyond May 31, 2023. But according to a statement issued by the police on Thursday, they have now extended the deadline by two months for Orchard Towers’ nightlife outlets to stop PE operations. This came after PE operators and the Singapore Nightlife Business Association appealed to extend their PE licences.
The Government has considered the appeal. It will not be changing the policy direction, but the police had agreed to a deadline extension, the statement said. This deadline extension will facilitate Orchard Towers’ nightlife outlets’ transition to alternative arrangements, the statement added.
related:
'It came as a shock': Orchard Towers nightclubs, bars worried for their future after non-renewal of licences
Orchard Towers at night. (File photo: CNA/Jalelah Abu Baker)
The operators were notified last month that all public entertainment licences for businesses at Orchard Towers would not be renewed. This was part of the Government's "continued efforts to manage the law and order situation and disamenities" at the building, the notice from the police said. Nightclubs and bar operators said they were not the only ones to blame for Orchard Towers’ seedy reputation, and expressed shock and worry about the authorities’ decision not to renew their licences.
The operators were notified last month that all public entertainment licences for businesses at Orchard Towers would not be renewed. This was part of the Government's "continued efforts to manage the law and order situation and disamenities" at the building, the notice from the police said.
I went clubbing at Orchard Towers
It was a random Friday evening when a bunch of our colleagues asked: "Eh, have y'all been clubbing at Orchard Towers before?" Orchard Towers, sometimes known as the "Four Floors Of Whores", belongs to what many would dub the seedier side of town.
In the 1980s, nightclubs and massage parlours had begun to pop up there, with many of these establishments walking the lines of legality. But what is it like to party in a club there? None of us in the office knew. When it came to clubbing, most of us were the typical oh-let's-go-to-Zouk-and-drink-plum-shots-while-hoping-they-play-Steve-Aoki.
So somehow they decided to send us (Andrew and Tanya) to go check it out and see if it would really be all that different from a typical club. Don't ask why it was us. The answer will probably hurt our feelings.
Police raids massage parlours & entertainment outlets
As the cost of living continues to rise in Singapore, it seems that some streetwalkers are turning to other means to bring home the bacon. Recently, some 50 women were arrested when the police conducted a raid at Geylang Lorong 23.
A video of the incident has also been circulating online, showing the group of women being herded into a police truck which was parked near a coffee shop, reported Shin Min Daily News on Thursday (June 15). Some of the women were seen attempting to cover their faces, for fear of being recognised.
An eyewitness surnamed Yang, who works as a chef in the vicinity told the Chinese daily that the police conducted the raid on Monday evening (June 12). The 50-year-old said that these women would loiter at the coffee shop and offer to drink with the men for a small fee. As a result, the coffee shop has also inevitably attracted many drunkards who visit the premises solely for the women. "The most I've seen is about 40 or 50 women, who are mostly from Vietnam. A small number of them are from China," Yang said. After drinking with the men, they would then solicit for sexual services, charging anywhere between $100 to $200. "After they agree on a price, they will head to a hotel room. Even though police have conducted raids in this area before, these women still return because there's a demand [for their services]," he added.
