Chee Hong Tat pledges continued HDB cooperation to weed out errant heartland massage parlours

From Dec 1, 2026, there will not be any licensing exemptions for massage establishments as changes to the regulatory regime — announced in April this year — kick in.

Taking to Facebook after the police announcement, Minister for National Development Chee Hong Tat emphasised that HDB will continue to take firm action against errant operators, reiterating an earlier pledge to weed out errant operators and not allow undesirable activities to spread in housing estates.

He revealed that HDB has taken action on 26 cases involving vice activities across both sold and rental shops, including working with sold shop owners to evict errant operators and terminating the tenancy of a rental shop.

Following the implementation, open-concept massage establishments (OME) which are presently exempted from licensing will need to comply with "fit and proper" requirements under a new "Category 3" licensing regime.

This means that an applicant must also submit the relevant land planning approval from HDB or the Urban Redevelopment Authority for the premises to be used as an OME, police said.

Category 1 licences are granted to those which operate in HDB shop houses, shopping centres and hotels, while Category 2 licences are given to those operating away from residential areas, schools and places of worship.

Existing OME operators will have a one-year grace period till Nov 30, 2027, to transit to the new regime, or cease operations by the end of that period.

To encourage early applications, those who obtain the licence before June 1, 2027, will receive a 50 per cent licence fee concession.

Meanwhile, all massage establishments, regardless of category, must display a police-issued poster containing details of the licence on their shopfronts. Failure to do so will be an offence.

However, prior approval for employee uniforms will no longer be required, with operators instead needing to comply with uniform standards prescribed by the police.

There is also incentive for operators to ensure that their respective establishment remains compliant, with licence tenure for all categories to be extended to three or five years, depending on compliance records.

'Our heartlands are home to families and communities'

Meanwhile, Chee also reminded HDB shop owners of their responsibility to ensure that they do not turn a blind eye to vice activities on their premises, or face serious consequences.

"Our heartlands are home to families and communities, and we will ensure they remain a safe environment for all. We will continue to work closely with SPF to weed out such undesirable activities from our neighbourhoods," the minister said.

从 2026 年 12 月 1 日起，按摩场所将不再享有任何许可豁免，因为今年 4 月宣布的监管制度变更将生效。

警方发布公告后，国家发展部长徐芳达在脸书上强调，建屋发展局将继续对违规经营者采取坚决行动，重申了早先清除违规经营者、不让不良活动在住宅区蔓延的承诺。

他透露，建屋发展局已对 26 起涉及已售店铺和租赁店铺的卖淫活动案件采取了行动，包括与已售店铺的业主合作驱逐违规经营者，以及终止租赁店铺的租约。

实施后，目前免于许可的开放式按摩场所（OME）将需要遵守新的“第 3 类”许可制度下的“适当性”要求。

警方表示，这意味着申请人还必须提交建屋发展局或市区重建局的相关土地规划批准文件，才能将房屋用作OME（开放式办公场所）。

第一类许可证颁发给在组屋店屋、购物中心和酒店经营的商家，而第二类许可证颁发给在住宅区、学校和宗教场所以外经营的商家。

现有的 OME 运营商将有一年的宽限期，到 2027 年 11 月 30 日过渡到新制度，或者在该宽限期结束时停止运营。

为鼓励尽早申请，凡在 2027 年 6 月 1 日前获得许可证者，将享受 50% 的许可证费用减免。

同时，所有按摩场所，无论类别，都必须在其店面张贴警方发放的包含许可证详细信息的海报。违者将被视为违法行为。

但是，员工制服不再需要事先获得批准，经营者只需遵守警方规定的制服标准即可。

此外，经营者也有动力确保其各自的场所保持合规，所有类别的许可证期限将延长至三或五年，具体取决于合规记录。

“我们的中心地带是家庭和社区的家园”

与此同时，谢先生也提醒组屋店主，他们有责任确保不对店内发生的不法活动视而不见，否则将面临严重的后果。

“我们的社区是家庭和社区的家园，我们将确保它们始终是所有人的安全环境。我们将继续与新加坡警察部队密切合作，清除社区中此类不良活动，”部长说。