Woman, 44, secretly ran brothel in massage parlour, claimed workers provided sexual services without her knowledge

She was caught when a worker filed a police report.

 

She was caught when a worker filed a police report.

November 06, 2025, 04:05 PM

A woman who secretly operated a brothel under the guise of a massage parlour was caught after one of her sex workers filed a police report, prompting officers to raid the premises.

During the raid, police found a woman scantily dressed on top of a man on a treatment bed, along with a container of condoms and English-translated notes containing sexually suggestive questions.

However, Mo Xuekui, 44, claimed she was merely a cashier and that her four masseuses had provided sexual services without her knowledge.

She claimed trial to three charges: procuring a woman for prostitution, managing a brothel, and living on immoral earnings.

The judge eventually found her guilty and sentenced her to 14 months in jail.

Mo has since filed an appeal against both her conviction and sentence, according to a  made publicly available on Nov. 4.

Operating as a massage parlour

In November 2021, Mo approached a man named Chan Boon Huat, asking if he was interested in buying a profitable beauty parlour for S$25,000.

The business operated under the sole proprietorship Huixia.

Chan viewed the unit in mid-December 2021 and decided to buy it, later employing Mo to manage the business with a monthly salary of S$2,500.

Huixia signed a lease with the landlord for a monthly rent of S$5,395.

To employ more foreign workers, Chan registered an additional company, Xiao Xue Pte Ltd, using the same business address.

Worker filed police report

On Feb. 4, 2022, one of the workers filed a police report stating that she had been providing sexual services at a massage parlour on Carpenter Street under Mo’s instructions.

She was arrested on Feb. 7 for an offence under the Women’s Charter 1961.

According to the prosecution, the worker had arrived in Singapore on Dec. 19, 2021, and began work after completing her Covid-19 isolation.

On her second day, Mo allegedly told her to provide sexual services and showed her a bottle of condoms.

The worker testified that all the sex workers lived in the unit. Mo also provided the contact of a webmaster who helped upload photos and pricing details on a website for their sexual services.

Three days later, the worker told Mo she no longer wanted to provide sexual services. However, she was told she had to pay S$4,500 to leave her employment, so she continued working to pay off the amount.

Out of the S$150 fee earned from each customer, Mo took a S$50 cut.

Police raid

Following the police report, a raid was conducted a few days later. Officers found two female Chinese nationals and one Vietnamese national in the parlour.

One of the ladies was discovered scantily clothed and on top of a male customer on a treatment bed, suspected of engaging in sexual activity.

Two customers present at the parlour were interviewed and later testified that they had found advertisements for massages and sexual services on a website, which listed prices for each type of service.

They said they paid between S$150 and S$180 for sexual services.

Police also seized a container with condoms and a piece of paper translating English phrases into Chinese. The document included phrases such as “Can we shower together?” and “Can I kiss you?”

A two-page ledger listing the sex workers’ names, timings, and room numbers used for services was also recovered.

Mo was arrested that same day when she returned to the unit. Officers seized three of her mobile phones.

Investigations later found a WeChat conversation between Mo and a worker discussing whether to replace certain photographs with sexier ones.

Claimed ignorance

The judge described Mo’s defence as one of “bare denial.”

Mo claimed she had hired four female workers as masseuses and that they had provided sexual services without her knowledge.

She testified that she was employed by Huixia as a cashier. Her duties included conducting job interviews and orientations for new workers.

Mo admitted to preparing the two-page document translating English phrases into Chinese but claimed it was meant to help workers understand “unreasonable requests” from customers.

She denied knowing about the container of condoms but admitted she had provided the webmaster’s contact to the workers.

Mo also acknowledged collecting S$50 from each customer served by the workers, insisting it was payment for legitimate massage services.

At one point, Mo claimed the parlour’s house rules prohibited sexual services. However, when shown the document in court, no such rule existed, and she retracted her statement.

“This was an attempt on her part to embellish her evidence,” the judge said.

After reviewing all the evidence, the judge concluded that the prosecution had proven the case "beyond a reasonable doubt", finding Mo guilty on all charges.

Top photos via Canva