Woman gets jail for arranging sex work in Singapore for foreign women

SINGAPORE: An Indonesian woman who came to Singapore to accompany her boyfriend for a court case became embroiled in her own when she helped two other women in illegal sex work.

Audina Dwika Roza, 30, was sentenced to about four months' jail on Friday (Jul 4). She pleaded guilty to three charges under the Women's Charter, with another five charges taken into consideration.

The court heard that Audina had come to Singapore in April 2024 on a social visit pass, intending to engage in sex work.

She returned to Singapore in October 2024 on another social visit pass to accompany her then-boyfriend, known as Randy, for criminal court proceedings against him.

On Oct 21 last year, an Indonesian woman who had met Audina at a karaoke lounge in Jakarta texted Audina saying she wanted to come to Singapore for sex work, but did not have money for the air ticket.

Audina said she would help her with the arrangements. She split the cost of the ticket with a friend, who introduced her to a second woman interested in doing sex work.

The two sex workers arrived in Singapore in late October 2024.

They were added to a WhatsApp chat group with Audina and her friend, named "Holiday SG".

From Oct 22 to Oct 29 last year, Audina advertised her sexual services on a website and keyed in a Singapore-registered phone number for interested clients to contact her directly.

She provided sexual services to several clients at a hotel room, earning about S$2,000 (US$1,500).

When the two sex workers arrived in Singapore, Audina went to meet them and took them to a hotel in Dickson Road.

She asked them to change into "sexy clothes" so she could take photos of them for the platform. Audina then took sexually suggestive photos of the two women and advertised their services online.

She liaised with their customers on WhatsApp or Telegram and arranged meetings with them as well as negotiated prices.

Audina agreed to take 30 per cent of both workers' earnings.

The first woman had seven clients, handing over about S$1,300 to Audina, while the second had only one client and gave S$500 to Audina.

The three women were arrested by the police on Oct 30 last year at the hotel. Audina returned the full sum of the earnings to the sex workers after investigations commenced.

The woman with seven clients was diagnosed with chlamydia in December.

The prosecution sought three months and four weeks' jail to three months and six weeks' jail.

Defence lawyer Riko Isaac from Amolat & Partners asked for not more than two months' jail.

He said Audina had come to visit her boyfriend Randy around Oct 7, 2024, as Randy was going to start his sentence for drink driving around Oct 22 that year.

Audina was going to fly back to Indonesia, but was contacted by the first sex worker whom she knew in Indonesia. 

The latter asked for help to work in Singapore as a sex worker, saying there were no customers going to karaoke lounges in Jakarta, and that she and her friends could not make ends meet.

Audina agreed to help her "out of sympathy" for her plight, said the lawyer. 

The judge noted that Audina's role "was not minor", paying for half the air ticket for one of the sex workers and taking pictures of them and advertising their services.

Audina wiped off tears in the dock as she listened. 

She was allowed to defer her sentence to August so she can settle some matters for her daughter, as she is separated from her husband.