They go for massages, then ask... CAN WE HAVE SEX TOO?
Massage therapists say locals are mostly to blame
February 22, 2008

THEY spend years learning their trade.


Posed photo of her giving a massage.

Some even have diplomas from abroad.

Yet, if you're a massage therapist working in Singapore, you are quite likely to be asked for sex.

Ms Shanitha Ruchirashil, 29, gets indecent proposals almost daily.

'Singaporean men seem to assume that there will be extra services,' said Ms Shanitha, who has been in the line for eight years.

'In contrast, many foreign clients just appreciate the massage. They even introduce me to their children. I think it is a cultural thing.'

Canadian Robert Timmons, 35, for example, does not understand why massage has such connotations in Singapore.

Said the freelance writer: 'There are many professional therapists back home who would probably sue you for sexual intimidation if you tried propositioning them.'

Ms Shanitha, who has a diploma in aromatherapy and massage from the Maple Academy in the UK, is not alone in facing such problems.

'All my friends in this line of work have come across such difficulties,' she said.

BAD HATS IN INDUSTRY

Massage therapist Shanitha Ruchirashil, showing how clients sometimes try to get more than their due. -- Pictures: GAVIN FOO

Another therapist, Ms Joni Ng, 33, said that many bad hats in the industry were 'spoiling the market'.

Said Ms Ng: 'In Singapore, there are places where you go for a massage and get sex also, though it is illegal. People like that are making life difficult for the rest of us.'

A quick check on an online classifieds website showed a sizable number of suggestive massage ads. One even invited the viewer to 'try her sexy topless massage'.

Ms Shanitha also has to put up with lewd e-mails and phone calls despite making it plain that she does not offer 'extra' services.

An advertisement she placed on a website reads: 'I do strictly massage only. I don't provide any extra service. No gimmicks. Sorry, I don't send pictures.'

Despite this, one recent e-mail asked whether she would also offer 'fantasy and role play services'.

The problems often do not stop with indecent proposals.

Sometimes, when she visits a client at his home, she has to ward off amorous advances.

She once had to firmly tell a client who tried to hold her hand during his massage: 'I don't do extra services. Please respect me.'

Mr Gan C K, 40, a senior trainer in TCM Professional Centre who conducts courses in traditional massage therapy, agrees there can be problems.

'The massage therapist should firmly reject the customer. If he persists, the therapist should leave the room at once,' hesaid.

But some people felt the men's reactions were understandable.

'A woman is touching you all over your body for hours, and it's just the two of you in a room with full privacy,' said Mr Lakshan D, 27.

'Massages are sexual to a large extent, without a doubt.'

Businessman Eric Chan, 53, agreed. 'In Singapore, there are many massage parlours and masseuses who give 'extra' services. So, many people automatically assume that there will be some action after the massage.'

MEN PROPOSITIONED TOO
Even men who work in this line get lurid requests.

Mr Sehap Rashid, 43, has taken courses certified by the Workforce Development Agency in foot refloxology, shiatsu and thai massage and more under the National Skills Recognition System. He runs a home spa business and does Javanese whole body massage for men.

He also offers a traditional massage called urut batin, which is meant to promote male virility and stamina. In a regular session, the male genitals are massaged.

Mr Rashid indignantly recalled a request from a man who asked if Mr Rashid could massage his girlfriend - while he watched.

'I was aghast. What kind of boyfriend is that?'

Once, he chased a client out of his home spa. The old man had started asking for obscene acts toward the end of his massage and would not take no for an answer.

'I told him he could take his $60 and leave. I don't do such things.'

He said he often feels 'humiliated and embarrassed' in such situations.

He has also received text messages from angry customers who want more.

One message detailed the customer's 'sexual experience with another so-called masseur'.

So why does he stay in this job?

Massage therapy is part of his heritage, as his grandmother was a massage therapist. It is also his passion, he said.

By Charissa Yong, newsroom intern