Under the red light: The hidden lives of Singapore’s sex workers

Most of the sex workers in Singapore are transitory migrants who enter on tourist visas and leave after a few weeks. Singaporeans and local residents make up only a small fraction. - CHNG CHOON HIONG/ST/ANN

SINGAPORE: It is a humid Tuesday morning in Geylang.

As she does every week, 58-year-old Serene (not her real name) walks the narrow lorongs – Malay for lanes – with a tote bag of chilli guava chips swinging by her side. Near Lorong 16, she spots two women standing outside a row of shophouses.