In an operation against online vice, officers from the Criminal Investigation Department and Central Police Division raided a budget hotel located along Lavender Street on 21 Apr 2010 and arrested 38 suspects of various nationalities.

Out of the 38 arrested, 4 were arrested under the Misuse of Drugs Act while the rest were arrested for offences under the Women's Charter. Police investigations revealed that some of those arrested had made use of the Internet to advertise their sexual services.

Investigations against the arrested persons, including the hotel operator, are ongoing.

Director of the Criminal Investigation Department, Senior Assistant Commissioner Ng Boon Gay said 'Vice operators who think they can operate freely under the anonymity of the Internet are sadly mistaken. We will continue to clamp down on syndicates and hotel operators who knowingly facilitate such illicit activites. Hotel operators are expected to run their business responsibly and exercise due diligence in keeping their premises crime free.'

Under the Women's Charter, any person who knowingly lives wholly or in part on the earnings of the prostitution of another person shall be guility of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years and shall also be liable to a fine not exceeding $10,000/-. Any repeat male offender is also liable to caning.