PUBLISHED ONApril 21, 2026 7:15 AMBYSean LerThe police are putting an end to licensing exemptions for massage establishments as new set of regulations come into effect from the second half of this year.
This means that open-concept massage establishments — presently exempted from licensing — will soon need to comply with "fit and proper" requirements under a new "Category 3" licensing regime.
Category 1 licences are granted to those which operate in HDB shop houses, shopping centres and hotels, while Category 2 licences are given to those operating away from residential areas, schools and places of worship.
Among the requirements: ensuring that rooms, partitions or cubicles are not set up within the establishment, and obtaining land use approval from HDB and Urban Redevelopment Authority before the premises can be used as an open-concept massage establishment.
Police said in a news release on Tuesday (April 21) that they have observed a steady rise in public unhappiness over the system, which they said came from the increase in number of open-concept massage establishments and the social disamenities they create.
They added that there has also been an increase in vice-related activities and infringements of exemption conditions in open-concept massage parlours.
[[nid:729344]]
Welcoming the move, Minister for National Development Chee Hong Tat said in a Facebook post that his ministry and its agencies are supportive of the new measures.
He pledged that HDB officers will work closely with the police to clamp down on errant establishments that do not comply with regulations and provide illicit services.
Chee also warned such operators that HDB has the authority to terminate the tenancies of those found to be complicit in vice-related activities.
He noted that sold shops have also been generally cooperative in evicting such tenants when required by HDB, adding that there have been 36 such evictions since 2025.
"The bottom line is this: errant operators will not be permitted to continue their illegal business activities in our neighbourhoods, regardless of whether they are operating out of a HDB rental or sold shops.
"We will weed them out and not allow such undesirable activities to spread in our housing estates and affect the living environment for residents," Chee said.
All three categories of licensees will have to display a police-issued poster at their shop fronts.
These posters will state the establishment's licence number and indicate a URL link for members of the public to report regulatory breaches to the police.
But there will be greater regulatory certainty for compliant massage establishment operators, with longer tenure licences of up to five years, up from the present three.
With this, the police said they will discontinue the existing progressive tenure system and grant longer tenures of three or five years from the outset.
Meanwhile, new Category 1 and 2 licensees will continue to be issued with a one-year provisional licence, before they can be granted three- or five-year licences, depending on their compliance history.
The police will also reduce administrative burden on operators by providing clear standards on uniforms for strict compliance, moving away from the current requirement of needing licensees to seek approval for employee uniforms.
Details and implementation timeline of these new changes will be announced at a later date following engagements with the industry.
[[nid:729876]]
No part of this story can be reproduced without the permission of AsiaOne.
