SINGAPORE, Feb 4 — Massage parlours and salons used as fronts for vice activities are set to face tighter scrutiny in Singapore, with the authorities preparing to roll out stiffer regulations in the coming months, according to The Straits Times.

In a joint reply, the Singapore Police Force and the Housing Board said the police are reviewing the Massage Establishments Act. 

“We will announce changes soon,” they added.

The Act requires operators of massage establishments to be licensed, while exempting open-concept outlets and beauty or hair salons that do not offer massage services. 

Such shops were previously regarded as lower-risk because they typically did not conduct full-body massages. 

The authorities do not track how many of these exempted businesses exist.

But vice operators have increasingly turned to these loopholes, registering themselves as beauty salons — and more recently, hair salons — to avoid oversight. 

The police raided three such salons in 2025 and found workers providing unlicensed massage services.

The sector has already seen disruptions. In January, at least 10 massage and spa outlets at Tanjong Pagar Plaza shuttered during a crackdown on vice activities. 

This followed Foo Cexiang, the MP for Tanjong Pagar GRC, pledging in September 2025 to rejuvenate the ageing complex amid concerns about illicit operations.

Yesterday, Cassandra Lee (West Coast–Jurong West GRC) pressed the Singapore government about vice activities involving licensed operators. 

In a written reply, K. Shanmugam, Singapore’s coordinating minister for national security and minister for home affairs, said the review aims to ensure the regulatory regime is “updated and fit for purpose”, adding that industry consultations will take place.

He noted that the number of issued massage establishment licences has edged down over the past three years: 907 in 2023, 877 in 2024 and 868 in 2025. 

Vice activities detected in these licensed premises have also fallen, from 45 cases in 2023 to 30 in 2025.

Authorities said they are aware of the “disamenities” caused by errant operators, citing ongoing enforcement and regulatory controls. 

In the heartland, the Housing Board has tightened quotas for massage establishments in HDB rental shops since September 2024. 

Tenants must now seek approval to switch trades, while similar rules apply to HDB-sold shops wanting to convert to massage establishments.

Past enforcement rounds have pushed some vice operators to rebrand as beauty salons to stay off the radar, the authorities said. 

With new restrictions on the horizon, the police added they will work with agencies and industry players before implementing the updated rules.