Submitted by farhan on Sun, 18/10/2015 - 4:50pm
Sexual services costing between $30 and $50 are being offered at the Woodlands Town Garden carpark at night.
But these are not your normal sex workers.
The transvestites or "sisters", dressed in heels and tight dresses, sitting at a bus stop are not waiting for bus. Instead, they are waiting for customers, sometimes whispering "service, service".
"Prices can be discussed," says one of the prostitutes. The deed is done in cars or in the park, if customers don't drive. "We also do it behind lorries," she adds.
Each customer takes about 20 minutes.
Customers come start coming in about 1am till about 3am, but some of the prostitutes start work as early as 9pm. Demand is higher on Fridays and Saturdays, and more of her "sisters" - as many as seven - will congregate there, says another transvestite.
One sister who has been working at the park for 7 years says that it is mostly foreign workers who ask for their services. Singaporeans only come and see, the sister added.
The Woodlands park is popular with the transvestites, who are usually Malaysians working in Singapore. Changi Village is too far and too crowded. Many of them are actually saving up for sex-change operations and it's easier to return to their JB home.
"There are some sisters who do it because they enjoy the sex and are lonely. There are very few places where people can accept us," says one.
They say business at the Woodlands park used to be better but the authorities have installed more lamps and cameras in recent years.
"Sometimes sisters get lazy and don't want to throw away the used condoms. Cleaners find them the next day and complain," adds one of the transvestites.
"After a while, you know the regulars," says one sex worker. "We become friends, and they visit us for some company. It's not always sex."