Originally posted by sassina2 MARCH 22, 2004
It's Saturday: 600 S'pore men hit Batam... for sex
They account for three-quarters of men seeking callgirls there
By Theresa Tan
'The Chinese men have very strong sexual desires. And the girls will do whatever it takes to get tips.' - Mr Husaini Tarmizi, an outreach officer from the Partnership for Health and Humanitarian Foundation in Batam (YMKK)
They account for seven or eight out of every 10 men who go to the Riau island - an hour's ride away by ferry - for a sex romp, according to a non-governmental organisation that helps sex workers there.
Most of these Singaporeans are Chinese men - ranging from teenagers to grandfathers clutching walking aids - looking for $50-a-night sex partners.
A survey by YMKK, or Partnership for Health and Humanitarian Foundation, in Batam last May found that about 600 Singaporean men arrive on Batam's shores every Saturday for sex.
The thriving sex trade, coupled with the rise in the number of cases of HIV/Aids and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), prompted YMKK to ask the United Nations Development Fund for Women, Singapore (Unifem Singapore) and the Singapore International Foundation (SIF) for help.
Unifem and SIF are now supporting YMKK to 'empower migrant, sex and industrial workers in Batam and to combat the trafficking of women and children'.
Since September last year, a group of 28 volunteers with the SIF Youth Expedition Project have visited the island almost every weekend.
They train YMKK's local staff to use research software and teach them conversational English, among other skills, so YMKK staff are able to reach out to sex workers and persuade foreign donors to support their cause.
Said SIF volunteer Lim Kai Yang, 26: 'The sex trade in Batam is brought on by Singaporeans.
'And as a Singaporean Chinese man not involved in the sex trade, I feel a need to do my bit to help sex workers here.'
Problems highlighted by Mr Lim include girls as young as 15 being tricked into prostitution, unwanted pregnancies, STDs, HIV/Aids and drug addiction.
Said Ms Lola Wagner, YMKK's director: 'Girls from across Indonesia are promised good jobs in restaurants or karaoke lounges here, but when they arrive they find themselves locked up like prisoners and made to work as prostitutes.
'If they don't perform, they are not given food or beaten up.'
Ms Wagner estimates about half the sex workers in Batam are tricked into prostitution, and almost all who use YMKK medical services have STDs.
According to media reports, the island has about 7,000 registered prostitutes who work in government-regulated establishments, but the actual number could be nearer 20,000, said social workers.
Batam has among the highest incidences of HIV/Aids in Indonesia.
About 150 people there have HIV/Aids now, compared to just 72 in 2000.
They are mostly sex workers, and the number could be just the tip of the iceberg, said Ms Wagner.
She added: 'Many more cases could be going unreported, as sex workers are very afraid of going to the doctors. They're afraid of being tested positive.'
Said Mr Husaini Tarmizi, an outreach officer at YMKK, in Malay: 'Singaporean Chinese men like to look for girls under 18 years old, as they're pretty and considered to be still clean.
'The Chinese men have very strong sexual desires. And the girls will do whatever it takes to get tips.'
CLIENTS are usually Chinese Singaporean men, from those still in school to grandfathers who need help walking, said prostitutes interviewed.
The men usually arrive in groups of two to five during the weekend to shop, eat and have sex. An overnight romp costs about 250,000 rupiah (S$50).
A smaller group of men take the one-hour ferry ride to Batam on weekdays for 'short time' or quickies for between 120,000 and 150,000 rupiah.
MARCH 22, 2004
Client: 68-year-old security guard
Girlfriend: 17-year-old Indonesian
A 68-year-old security guard, who wants to be known only as Mr 1111, tells JANE NG why he has been going to Batam for the past 10 years
TEN years ago, my friends told me about the girls in Batam when they realised how much I had been spending on the nightclub girls here - between $60,000 to $100,000 just to get one to sleep with me.
I decided to give it a shot. I now spend most of my days off in Batam - which works out to once every 10 days or once in two weeks.
There are literally thousands of girls in Batam. Many of them are around 16 to 17 years old. Those who are 26 and above are considered old. No one wants them.
It all starts with a drink at the karaoke bar or disco. If we like each other, we can go on to spend the night together.
It costs just $50 to spend a night with a girl there, and maybe an additional $10 as a tip.
Regular customers like me pay only $40, compared to $30 per hour for the girls in Geylang, who can't compare with the Indonesian girls anyway.
My current girlfriend is a 17-year-old Indonesian girl.
She is really pretty. She has blue eyes, sharp nose and an oval face.
She is fair, with straight, waist-long hair which she recently coloured brown.
Singapore girls can't compare with her.
Like my past Indonesian girlfriends, she is understanding and makes no demands on me. She is simple-minded.
Of my $1,500 salary each month, I give her $300 - $60 to rent a small room and the rest for her food and expenses.
In return, she agreed to sleep exclusively with me and I promised not to sleep with other women. That's why I don't use a condom. I'm confident she does not have diseases. So far, so good.
I've told her that at any time, if she finds a younger man and wants to leave me, she is free to do so as long as she lets me know beforehand.
My wife, 63, and daughter, 38, know about her as well as the previous girls I've had.
They don't mind at all. My wife says as long as I don't bring back any disease or get cheated - by buying a house in Batam for my girlfriend - she is fine with it.
My daughter, whose son is six, says since Daddy is already so old, it's okay to let him have some fun.
And that is really all there is to it.
Visiting Batam is just an entertaining and relaxing pastime for an old man like me.
MARCH 22, 2004
'Condoms and respect, please'
SEX workers in Batam have a message for Singaporean men: Please use condoms and show us some respect.
Said mamasan Farah (not her real name), 35, in Malay: 'We don't want to get pregnant. We don't want sexually transmitted diseases and we're so fearful of Aids.
'For everyone's sake, please use condoms.'
She said Singaporean men prefer unprotected sex.
She added: 'Some girls get pregnant and don't know what to do as abortion is illegal in Batam. It's very traumatic for them.'
Sex worker Anna (not her real name), 25, from Kalimantan, said: 'Just because men pay us for sex does not mean they can treat us badly or make us engage in violent sexual acts.'
She said she knows of sex workers who are slapped or beaten by their clients, but the majority just keep mum and blame it on their 'fate'.
According to Farah, most of the 'girls' are between 20 and 25 years old from various parts of Indonesia such as Java and Sumatra.
Many have to support their family back in their kampung, while others were abandoned by their husbands and resorted to prostitution to put their children through school.
Both Farah and Anna were evasive about their past, saying they couldn't reveal too much or they will land in trouble with their bosses.
A picture of their typical clients: usually Chinese Singaporean men, from those still in school to grandfathers who need help walking.
They usually come in groups of two to five during the weekend to shop, eat and have sex. Overnight romps cost about 250,000 rupiah (S$50).
A smaller group of men take the one-hour ferry ride to Batam on weekdays for 'short time' or quickies for between 120,000 and 150,000 rupiah.
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Copyright @ 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.
So.... my bro sassina2, after so much have been said (above), bottom line = is it right or wrong thing to cheong??
Everybody has their own "domain" and lifestyle based on how he wants his life.
If you have nice family with nice wife you love much with good mutual respect, its better to keep that loving family and build on it. If you are like me a SOB with a bad marriage and lousy family life, someone who is basically not cut out to be a hubby or father type, then if you stop cheonging, you will make yourself totally miserable.
So everybody got own life and choices depending on their own needs.
No straight answer man. You got to decide what is good for you and keeps you happy and you know that is what you want for yourself.
S.
p.s. for those who do want to FA, its important to do so as safely as possible if they have family responsibility of course.
Originally posted by sassina2 Everybody has their own "domain" and lifestyle based on how he wants his life.
If you have nice family with nice wife you love much with good mutual respect, its better to keep that loving family and build on it. If you are like me a SOB with a bad marriage and lousy family life, someone who is basically not cut out to be a hubby or father type, then if you stop cheonging, you will make yourself totally miserable.
So everybody got own life and choices depending on their own needs.
No straight answer man. You got to decide what is good for you and keeps you happy and you know that is what you want for yourself.
S.
p.s. for those who do want to FA, its important to do so as safely as possible if they have family responsibility of course.
WAH LAN OI, sei pei the chim one ah!!!
Belum minum udah mabuk liao...
Bang, se-low aja man
Originally posted by Batam Man WAH LAN OI, sei pei the chim one ah!!!
Belum minum udah mabuk liao...
Bang, se-low aja man
alamak brother, mana ada chim!
Always a choice man! Some pple got no choice. The moment married kena ikat kaki semua teman pun tidak mau cari even if it a drink out in town only.
Anyway, the best way is to find a good balance lah! Of course if I go back and start again, I will remain batchelor lah - "kawin boleh, nika tidak bisa".
Originally posted by sassina2 alamak brother, mana ada chim!
Always a choice man! Some pple got no choice. The moment married kena ikat kaki semua teman pun tidak mau cari even if it a drink out in town only.
1st attempt I thought was coincident, but now confirmed a goal/hit with an indirect free kick.
What to do bro, only got your PM on the evening when I got back from Jkt, missing the ikat kaki feeling (once in a while kena ikat also shiok u know…), plus very tired after 3 nites of partying in Jkt.
BUT!!! still choose to reply you via sms and made plans to meet you the following day.
What else shall I say man…
Originally posted by Batam Man You mean you buying me bir?
You got contact no for Bintang Bir factory anot huh...?
Hi bro batam man, thanks for your kind attention during my last visit.
Will be going over to batam again next weekend and as you've promised, this time around I will get to buy you as many beer as you can drink. We will go to your walabis pub again, after my much training back in BBK, I think now I can beat you in pool. hahaha...
See ya bro
Originally posted by Batam Man 1st attempt I thought was coincident, but now confirmed a goal/hit with an indirect free kick.
What to do bro, only got your PM on the evening when I got back from Jkt, missing the ikat kaki feeling (once in a while kena ikat also shiok u know…), plus very tired after 3 nites of partying in Jkt.
BUT!!! still choose to reply you via sms and made plans to meet you the following day.
What else shall I say man…
BM,
Sorry ah, I was not referring to you about "ikat kaki". I really appreciate your contacting me on sms and getting together. I was referring more to many of my friends where even going out for a drink also cannot!
You OK man from what I can see - only partial "ikat" still can go drink or "out of town etc.
When I talking ikat, I know of a few very close friends who cannot even go out for a beer in town!
Originally posted by sassina2 Everybody has their own "domain" and lifestyle based on how he wants his life.
If you have nice family with nice wife you love much with good mutual respect, its better to keep that loving family and build on it. If you are like me a SOB with a bad marriage and lousy family life, someone who is basically not cut out to be a hubby or father type, then if you stop cheonging, you will make yourself totally miserable.
So everybody got own life and choices depending on their own needs.
No straight answer man. You got to decide what is good for you and keeps you happy and you know that is what you want for yourself.
S.
p.s. for those who do want to FA, its important to do so as safely as possible if they have family responsibility of course.
Huh... I am sure u are a good father knowing u.
Cheers
__________________ Everything in life is in Contexure.
When there is a problem, there will always be a solution.
22-03-2004, 06:55 PM
