ANOTHER barren field, another raid for prostitutes servicing foreign workers and gamblers.

This time it was at Loyang Way.

The patch of land near Pasir Ris was a haven for prostitute seekers and gamblers at night, foreign workers said.

When the sun set, sexily-dressed women in their 20s could be seen walking in and out of the bushes where an open-air brothel operated. They reportedly charged $20 per session.

A rowdy crowd gathered at the gambling den.

Both illegal operations, said to have been around for a month, were busted by the police at around 9.30pm on Friday, reported Lianhe Wanbao.

Previously, the police had also conducted raids on vice dens in wooded areas on Lim Chu Kang Road and in Woodlands.

Last September, The New Paper reported that 12 men and 12 women were arrested after such a raid close to Woodlands Avenue 9.

A concealed wooded area there had makeshift enclosures where foreign workers allegedly had sex with prostitutes.

The spot was next to a foreign workers' hostel.

Then, in March this year, the police found a vice den operated by Thai nationals in a forest in Yishun.

In the latest case, police arrested five men and a Thai woman who worked as a prostitute at the Loyang Way den. They also confiscated condoms, toilet rolls, dices, gambling chips and cash.

The men, including two Thais and two China nationals between the ages of 30 and 45, were arrested for illegal gambling.

Lianhe Wanbao reported that the police had observed the operations for some time before they struck.

Undercover policemen were sent in as 'gamblers' first. When the main force arrived later, they ambushed the suspects together.

Two gamblers tried to flee, but they couldn't see where they were going in the dark and suffered minor injuries after tripping in the field.

The brothel had three makeshift 'rooms' within three metres of one another. Each 'room' used four tree trunks as pillars, while a blue canvas sheet covered three sides.

Condoms and toilet rolls were freely available from several plastic bags hanging on the tree branches.The transactions took place on a thin mattress which came with a damp and dirty pillow.

In between, they probably had to swat mosquitoes as the pests could be heard buzzing around the area.

Used condoms were strewn around the side of the mattress.

A foreign worker who lives at a dormitory nearby told Lianhe Wanbao that the illegal operations were set up along a shortcut route from the main road to their dormitory.

He said: 'I've been approached by Thai women in their 20s prostituting themselves for $20 a session. The gambling here can get so tense that the gamblers end up fighting. It's good the police have busted these operations.'

This article was first published in The New Paper on July 6, 2008.