Hi folks! I have a real problems with this article...... I don't disagree that the dangers of catching STDs and AIDS from commercial sex are very real. What I take issue with is that this esteemed ST reporter has narrated a scenario which I simply cannot believe actually took place. The whole story is just too far fetched to be plausible.

Let's analyse the following paragraphs.....

......"He shook hands with a man standing outside the house, with the look of a satisfied businessman who had just closed a major deal. In fact, the 29-year-old auditor had just paid $120 for a romp with a prostitute. 'Money well spent,' he said later....."

First of all, nobody pays $120 in Geylang. The rates are $40, $80, $150. Secondly, have you (those who patronise Geylang) ever shaken the hands of any whorehouse keeper or pimp after a screw???? Have you ever seen any other customer shake hands with the OKT after a fuck????? Give me a break ST! Singaporeans weren't born yesterday you know!

Ben then claims that the customer he interviewed went into graphic detail regarding his sexual habits....

........"He gave an explicit description of how different each encounter could be....."

What the fuck! Would any of you out there give a detailed description of how you fucked a prostitute to a completer stranger purportedly from the ST just minutes after meeting him????????? Give me another break please! The scenario is so ridiculous it wouldn't even fit into a Harold Robbins novel.

The ST goes on.....

......"Did he use a condom? Never, he said. It reduced his pleasure, especially when he reached an orgasm....."

While it may be possible to find a few chicks who agree to have unprotected sex with regular clients, it's extremely unlikely that anyone would be able to pursuade a different broad to engage in unprotected sex with each and every Geylang Escapade. The girls aren't that dumb. They are there to make a fast buck.... not to play russian roulette.

So what does the average "hooked on whores" Singaporean think of this wonderful piece of journalism by our country's LEADING English daily. Is it accurate?..... does it stretch the truth?..... or is it an outright piece of fabrication. Cast your votes at Sam's Sex Forum and tell us what you think of the Straits Times and its standard of reporting.

Quoted from the Sunday Times 3 Dec 2000........

Hooked on Hookers

Every day around the world, about 1,500 women are infected with HIV by their sexual partners who have visited prostitutes.

Will this man's wife be next? By Ben Nadarajan

HE WALKED out of the shophouse in Geylang Lorong 18, stretched a little, then straightened his tie.

He looked well-groomed, the kind of man a girl would gladly take home to Mum.

He shook hands with a man standing outside the house, with the look of a satisfied businessman who had just closed a major deal. In fact, the 29-year-old auditor had just paid $120 for a romp with a prostitute. 'Money well spent,' he said later.

The Sunday Times approached him as he walked back to his red BMW. Apprehensive at first, he loosened up slowly and was quite open about his pastime. He said he began visiting prostitutes about three months ago when his friends took him to Geylang.

'It was such a great experience having sex with a stranger. I found myself getting hooked on it,' he said. Now, he goes to a prostitute almost every week. 'After a while, having sex with one woman can get quite boring, you know,' he said. And yes, he still has sex regularly with his wife.

They have been married for less than one year. He boasted that he had never visited the same prostitute twice. 'I want to experience different women's bodies,' he said. But would not that increase his chances of getting a sexually-transmitted disease?

He said: 'Well, if I visited the same girl all the time, wouldn't it be like having sex with my wife? It would defeat the purpose of my going to the prostitutes in the first place.' He gave an explicit description of how different each encounter could be.

Did he use a condom? Never, he said. It reduced his pleasure, especially when he reached an orgasm.

Never mind that not using protection would greatly increase his risk of getting a sexually-transmitted disease, or worse still, acquired immune deficiency syndrome - which breaks down the body's disease-fighting immune system. Never mind that he might infect his wife with it.

Never mind either that if he infects his wife with HIV, any children they might have are likely to get it too. All that seemed to matter to him was satisfying his libido

. 'If I am not worried about me getting an STD, would I even worry about my wife getting it?' He looked at his watch and said: 'I've got to go.' 'Back to work?' I asked. He smiled and said: 'My wife is cooking dinner tonight.'