Todayonline.com, November 20, 2006

IT WAS mooted just two weeks ago, but already the call for tougher laws against child-sex predators is beginning to pay off.

Just two weeks after the Government proposed sweeping changes to the Penal Code — including targeting those who sexually exploit minors overseas — tour and ferry operators saw a 15-per-cent drop in ticket sales to Batam.

The largest ferry operator in Singapore and the region — Penguin Ferry Services — said that while group bookings in the last weekend remained at typical levels, individual bookings have dropped by about 70 passengers.

Restaurants in the red-light district in Batam — the haunt for Singaporean men looking for cheap sex with girls as young as 14 — say their profit margin has also dipped by nearly 50 per cent.

This development comes after the Singapore Government said it would give greater protection to children who fall victim to sexual exploitation, backed by tough punishments.

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