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SINGAPORE, Jan. 26 — “Hot Oil Prostate Treatment,” “Body Exfoliating Bubble Massage,” “Boyzilian Waxing. “This month, dubious massage ads have surfaced online claiming to settle for government vouchers meant to cover the cost of living. TODAY you have found.
Since the release of this year’s Community Development Board (CDC) vouchers on 3 January, a number of massage institutions have invited their consumers to spend part of their allowance of S$500 (intended for street and centre vendors) on such services.
These ads — which usually include suggestive photographs of female masseuses — have popped up on Facebook pages and groups, and public group chats on Telegram that promote massage services in Singapore.
A massage service known as “juagen” is also advertised, which involves the use of acupressure and other techniques to stimulate issues expressed in the male genitalia.
The messages come with the name, location, and phone numbers of the massage parlors.
Last Wednesday (Jan. 17), TODAY revealed that at least 15 of those institutions were indexed in the government’s CDCVouchersGoWhere as registered investors from the country’s core participating in the program.
CDC vouchers were first introduced in June 2020 through Deputy Prime Minister and then Minister of Finance, Heng Swee Keat, with the aim of getting low-income Singaporean families to shoulder the burden of living and supporting street vendors and investors in the heart of the Covid-19-stricken country. pandemic.
In the most recent edition of this year’s programme, Singaporean families earned a total of S$500 in vouchers, of which S$250 was allocated to spend in attractive shops in the country and the other part in attractive supermarkets.
“Special services” are offered
TODAY frequented two massage facilities that accepted CDC vouchers in mid-January and requested a one-hour frame massage in both cases.
During the massages in both establishments, the masseuse who treated the journalist presented “special services” of a sexual nature, which the journalist refused.
After paying for the massages in cash, the journalist filed two police reports and notified the CDC that day.
Massage institutions are regulated by the Massage Establishments Act so that they do not cause social inconvenience or carry out vicious activities, police said in reaction to questions from TODAY.
They added that they will investigate those who break the law or violate the conditions of their licenses, and that they may simply suspend or revoke the establishment’s license if evidence of serious violations is found.
At present, the terms and conditions for the vouchers listed on the CDC website state that they are “not valid for purchase of lottery products, petrol, diesel, alcohol or cigarettes”.
Responding to TODAY’s questions about whether the CDC is applying controls to those companies, the councils said they work heavily with investors to advise them on the program and inform them of the terms and conditions before integrating eligible individuals.
“However, if any of the traders are found to be providing illicit services, we will not hesitate to remove them from the system,” they added.
As of Friday, the two massage institutions frequented until TODAY are no longer indexed on the CDCVouchersGoWhere website, but are still in operation.
The CDC did not respond to questions about how the decision was made on what goods and facilities are deemed appropriate to purchase its vouchers, and whether checks are conducted at each business before it is approved as a participating merchant.
They noted, however, that “most investors in the center of the country engaged in occupations involving everyday goods and facilities and street vendors would be eligible. “
‘A balancing act’
On the occasion of the release of the CDC’s voucher program earlier this month, DPM Lawrence Wong said the vouchers were from a program implemented by the government to cushion the effects of inflation.
Mr Christopher Gee, who heads the governance and economy department at the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), said that the inappropriate use of CDC vouchers can hurt Singaporeans’ “sense of fairness” — especially as the scheme is funded with taxpayers’ money.
However, getting rid of those uses that are irrelevant comes with challenges.
“In general, the more effort you put into defining the formula and regulating it, the more expensive it becomes to administer,” said Walter Theseira, an associate professor of economics at the Singapore University of Social Sciences.
“For example, pre-qualifying outlets and auditing them would ensure that the formula meets targets, but it would also require hard work costs. “
Imposing more regulations so that coupons are not abused may also end up hurting segments of the population that derive the most benefit from the system, Mr. Gee, to the point that “increased friction” may lead to less use by consumers and merchants.
“It may mean it’s harder for your aunts and uncles who can take care of all those (rules) to navigate them,” he said.
“This defeats the purpose of helping other people who need those vouchers to alleviate the cost of living. At the end of the day, (the program) is intended to be an effective means of redistribution.
As of Jan 5, around 60 of Singapore’s 1. 27 million households had already claimed their S$500 CDC vouchers, South West District Mayor Low Yen Ling said in a Facebook post earlier this month .
Low, who is also Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth, as well as Trade and Industry, added that around S$8 million had already been spent on CDC bonds in the two days after this year’s launch.
If members of public merchants’ bodies accept CDC vouchers for the purchase of illicit goods and services, they can contact the People’s Association at 6225-5322, or the police at 1800-255-0000 or www. police. gov. sg/. I. declare. – TODAY