Violence against sex workers must not be taken lightly.

This International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers, Project X would like to spotlight four cases in which access to justice was made possible due to the collaboration with Mr Abraham Vergis, SC and Ms Bestlyn Loo of Providence Law and Ms Charmaine Yap of Drew & Napier.

In January 2023, 42-year-old Singaporean man Liaw Jin Yi was sentenced to 3.5 years jail for luring a financially vulnerable 24-year-old woman into a “sugar baby” arrangement using a fake identity, “Trevor” on Instagram.

The victim shared with us that the incident “traumatised” her and was difficult for her to move on from. She was supported by Ms Charmaine Yap of Drew & Napier over the course of 2.5 years. 

The court noted his significant planning and manipulation of the vulnerable victim. Notably, Liaw has been using the same tricks since 2014, where it was reported that he attempted to trick an escort into having sex with him. 

In October 2023, Abdul Rahman, otherwise known as Rahman Ray in the community, was sentenced to a 3 years and 71 days jail for refusing to pay a sex worker after obtaining their services.

Screenshot taken from https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/man-offered-2-sex-worker-instead-agreed-fee-jailed-3885491

Rahman Ray has been targeting sex workers in Singapore for the past 6 years. He would ask for sexual services, tell providers that his “style” is to pay later, and then never pay. He would mock, taunt, and even assault providers who said they would report him to the police.

In this case, both Mr Abraham Vergis, SC and Ms Bestlyn Loo of Providence Law rendered essential legal support to the victim by writing letters of representations for her, and also advised the client on her rights.

The victim shared that she was very traumatised by the whole experience, but that she is grateful for the support showed by communities in Singapore and in Australia.

In late 2021, we were approached by Ivy, a salon owner who alleged that she was falsely accused of providing sexual services at her shop. 

In August 2021, she was approached by a man who claimed to be a student. He said he had back aches from studying too much and wanted a 20 minute massage for $20. After much persuasion, she acceded to his request. Shortly after, the police was at her doorstep and was investigated under the Massage Establishment Act.

With Project X’s support, Ivy was represented by Ms Bestlyn Loo of Providence Law, who successfully fought baseless accusations of sex work, and reduced Ivy’s fine for providing massage without a valid license from $3,000 to $2,500.

In August 2023, a dominatrix was being doxxed and harassed by her client. It was severely affecting her mental health and personal life. We referred her to Ms Bestlyn Loo who spent hours guiding our client through the filing process. While obtaining a Protection Order (POHA) is meant to be layman friendly, it still requires some legal knowledge. The victim acquired an expedited protection order because of this. 

Significance of International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers

International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers was first observed in 2003. December 17 was initially held as a memorial and vigil for the victims of the Green River Killer in Seattle, Washington. The Green River Killer aka “Gary Ridgeway” stated that he chose sex workers as his victims “because […] I thought I could kill as many of them as I wanted without getting caught.”

Access to justice for sex workers is necessary and urgent to prevent the kind of harm done by people like Liew Jian Yi and Rahman Ray – both of whom have repeatedly committed crimes against sex workers for close to a decade. Laws and police practices should also be optimised to ensure that workers are encouraged to come forward to report crimes against them.

“Access to justice is widely recognised as a fundamental human right clearly established in international human rights law. […] This right is essential to the realisation of the human rights of sex workers”

~ Global Network of Sex Worker Projects

We are very grateful to our lawyer friends for advocating the rights and access to justice for sex workers. In addition to Ms Charmaine Yap, Mr Abraham Vergis, SC, and Ms Bestlyn Loo, we are also grateful to all the other lawyers who have rendered support throughout the years. 

Special thanks to all the women who have come forward to seek assistance from us, placing their trust in our work. We continue to urge all sex workers and sex work-adjacent workers to come forward and not remain in silence.

We are here for you.

Want to support our advocacy and legal cases? Make a donation via: give.asia/access-to-justice-px