Flesh trade could be Saipan’s 3rd industry

(First of two parts)

The sight of oriental-looking ladies prancing along the streets of Western Garapan donned in arresting garbs has been the subject of meticulous scrutiny by authorities of late.

To the untrained eye, the picture of well made-up ladies strolling briskly in groups around Saipan’s focal business district may appear as innocent as a flock of women out for an evening walk.

But there is apparently more to the attention-grabbing scene than meets the eye.

As frequent Western Garapan visitors can attest, the company of the string of ladies parading before one’s very eyes can be had for a number of hours, for a given price.

While the local government is spending millions of dollars promoting the islands to outside nations, community members have raised fears Saipan’s image as family destination is fast deteriorating.

This perception is partly attributed to the apparent proliferation of commercial sex especially within the Western Garapan district, placing the safety of tourists against the illegal rackets under peril.

The politics of availing the services of prostituted women in the Garapan area has taken diverse and somewhat ingenious modes. Majority of times, customers need not lift a finger to avail of the sexual services. The women, like pieces of commodity, are offered to them.

The transactions are often offered and guised as “massage” services that go much farther than an innocent body rub down.

Modern telecommunication devices have become indispensable in this particular line of business.

Making for speedier networking, pagers and cellphones have come in handy for prostitution promoters or pimps, as they are referred to on the streets.

Pimps have been known to approach customers, ready with a persuasive tool that tourists and other customers usually find hard to refuse.

The promoters slyly scan crowds and passersby for potential clients. Sources privy to the underground operation note that pimps are usually on alert for the loner types who are in the company of two or less.

When their sales instincts close in on a promising john, they cast the ultimate proposition.

The mode of payment accepted by the business operators is restricted to cash, the exact amount of which is settled before the so-called services is consummated. But the money is handed out after the services is completed.

The prices range depending on the age of the prostituted woman. Needless to say, customers are given the prerogative to choose. As if picking out an individual from a suspects line-up similar to a criminal case, clients inside a concealed room that only a screened individuals can enter browse through an array of girls to select their best preference.

Younger women are more pricey, according to the prevailing rate. The going rate for ladies over the age of 27 are relatively cheaper than women 26 years old or younger.

A witness in a court case that tried a defendant for soliciting prostitution said the women aged 19 to 26 years old were available for $120 and older women at around the $70-price range.

Aside from the magic of wireless telecommunication, spacious vehicles such as vans play an essential role in the flesh-selling business.

The medium transports the clients picked up from the Western Garapan area to a pre-arranged venue where the act is actually consummated.

These shacks, where the ladies are sent ahead to wait, are mostly situated outside Western Garapan although its distance from the business district is within a reasonable three to five minute-reach by means of a motored vehicle.

A couple are located in inconspicuous parts neighboring a major shopping center in Garapan area. Upper level rooms are usually reserved for this type of activity.

Prostitution also occur inside a selected number of night clubs on Saipan. The illicit activity usually takes place inside VIP rooms where a customer would request for a dancer to perform for him privately.

The fee for this type of service is around $100 to $150 which is equivalent to the cost of champagne that the woman orders. She may still opt to ask for an additional amount for her services inside the VIP room, where anything can happen.

Eradicating blots of prostitution out in the streets or inside brothels concealed as legitimate night entertainment venues have added burden to a myriad of problems authorities are already trying to put an end to.

With the recent formation of an anti-prostitution task force purposely created to wash Western Garapan’s streets off the said illegitimate business operations, alleys have lately been absent with screaming evidence of prostitution.

But while this development has raised hopes of a clean Garapan for some, it has likewise given birth to another pressing fear, are prostitution promoters getting better at cloaking their illegal business schemes?