On tourist visa, but Jiangsu woman not here to sightsee

Jiangsu native Gina has a dark secret. The 25-year-old arrived in Singapore from China two weeks ago as a tourist, but she has not visited attractions like Sentosa or tried local dishes like laksa.

Instead, she has been working as a freelance prostitute in a walk-up apartment in Geylang.

The fair and slender 1.7m-tall dance and music teacher has spent about $2,000 getting to Singapore and starting work.

The breakdown: $700 in airfare, $700 a week to rent a bedroom with an attached toilet and $580 to a Singapore agent who picked her up at the airport, arranged the apartment, took her photos and advertised her services online.

She said, through a source, that she also had sex with the agent for free "so that he can describe and rate my services online".

She charges her clients, who are all locals, $80 an hour. But she declined to reveal how much she has earned or the number of clients she has served.

Her clients responded to the online advertisement, but she does not rule out streetwalking.

"But I will try not to, because I am scared of getting caught by the police," she said.

She came to work as a freelance prostitute after friends who were here said it was lucrative and introduced her to the local agent.

"The agent was helpful, even helping me buy towels, mouthwash and condoms," she said.

This article was first published on Sep 4, 2014.
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