Geylang lookout for sex workers sentenced to 33 weeks in jail

When the police moved in on a cluster of brothels in Geylang’s Lorong 22 last December, a familiar voice rang out on a hidden phone. It was Magandran Nadarajan, a 49‑year‑old Singaporean who had been paid to act as a lookout for a handful of sex workers, tipping them off whenever officers were nearby.

According to the prosecution, Magandran’s day‑to‑day routine was grueling but simple: he scanned the street, nudged a friend, Subash Rao Muniandy, when a police patrol passed, and the workers would slip away. Roughly fifteen workers a day paid about S$10 each to Subash, who in turn split the cash, handing Magandran between S$60 and S$70 daily.

The arrangement went on for about two and a half months, from 27 December 2025 to roughly 10 February 2026. In June 2025, Magandran had already been convicted of a similar offence, making him a repeat offender under the Women’s Charter.

On 27 December 2025 he was released from prison on a remission order that was supposed to keep him out of custody until mid‑June 2026. Instead, he went back to the lookout job, breaching that order. The court took the breach seriously, tacking on 19 weeks to the base sentence.

In total, the High Court handed him 33 weeks behind bars – a figure that sits at the upper end of the prosecutor’s suggested range (14–17 weeks for the primary charge plus 19–23 weeks for the remission breach). The two charges were: one count under the Women’s Charter for receiving gratification in exchange for a service that aids sex work, and one count of aiding an attempt to obstruct justice.

While Magandran’s friend Subash Rao Muniandy was implicated in the scheme, his case remains pending, with no sentence handed down yet.

The maximum penalty for the primary offence could have been as high as ten years’ imprisonment and a S$150,000 fine, but the court opted for a more measured term, reflecting both the repeat nature of the crime and the seriousness of breaking a remission order.

Magandran will now serve his time, a stark reminder that even seemingly low‑key roles in the underground economy can attract severe legal consequences.