Many of the brothels are segregated based on nationality. For example, Cygon (pronounced "Saigon") is a cyber-themed brothel where Vietnamese sex workers work, said Cai.
Another brothel, Sawadee, is where Thai sex workers ply their trade.
In order to be granted a license for sex work, you must be "legally recognized as female" and be from one of five countries — China, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, or Singapore.
Legally recognized sex workers are provided with a yellow card which requires them to obtain regular medical check-ups and limits their employment to sex work. The average monthly income sex workers made before the COVID-19 restrictions was between 4,000 to 6,000 Singapore dollars ($2,900 to $4,300), Cai said during my tour.
Once a yellow card expires, the sex worker is deported and banned from returning to Singapore for any purpose. The ban lasts from a few years up to a lifetime, and is up to the police's discretion.
Because Singapore does not "publicly acknowledge" the existence of the yellow card, what is known about it is limited. Reports on sex work in the city-state do not state how long a yellow card is valid for, nor if the card can get renewed.
"Sometimes I regret, why I come and choose this life of a prostitute," Sophie, a sex worker who works in a brothel, told Project X, a volunteer-run organization that advocates for sex workers' rights in Singapore, in 2017. "I cannot even work other places."
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