{
  "id": 754679,
  "title": "Man, 26, to be charged for allegedly operating massage shops without valid licenses, causing a fire in unrelated incident",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/13/man-26-to-be-charged-for-allegedly-operating-massage-shops-without",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-13T10:28:52.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Mothership",
    "slug": "mothership",
    "url": "https://mothership.sg/2026/08/man-alleged-massage-outlets-fire/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A 26-year-old man will be charged in court on August 13, 2026 for allegedly running massage businesses without proper licenses, potentially causing a dangerous fire, and engaging in other criminal activities. According to police, the individual operated five massage establishments without valid licenses between June 2025 and December 2025. Preliminary investigations showed he had been involved in two other separate incidents. In 2021, he allegedly dropped a lit cigarette from a fourth-floor ledge, causing a fire. In 2024, he allegedly transferred his bank account and i-banking credentials to a criminal syndicate for S$500. His bank account was later used in scam operations. The man will be charged under the Massage Establishments Act 2017 for operating massage businesses without licenses, which carries a fine of up to S$10,000 or two years in jail. He will also face charges for causing or contributing to a dangerous fire, which can result in up to 18 months in jail, a fine, or both. Additionally, he will be charged for attempting to gain unauthorized access to computer materials, for which the penalty is up to two years in jail, a fine, or both. Finally, he will be charged for facilitating the retention or control of another person's benefits from criminal conduct, with a fine of up to S$50,000, a jail term of up to three years, or both. The police will continue to conduct regular inspections of massage establishments and take action against those operating without valid licenses. The public is advised to avoid seemingly attractive money-making opportunities that promise quick and easy profits, especially those that involve the use of personal accounts.",
  "summary": "A 26-year-old man will be charged on Aug. 13, 2026 for allegedly operating five massage shops without valid licenses, causing or contributing to a dangerous fire, and other offences. The police have conducted enforcement operations on massage outlets islandwide between June 2025 and December 2025, and preliminary investigations revealed that the man had allegedly operated five massage outlets without valid licenses at various locations. He has also been previously involved in two other separate cases, including dropping a lit cigarette that caused a fire in 2021 and relinquishing his bank account to a criminal syndicate for S$500 in 2024. The man will be charged for carrying on businesses of providing massage services in establishments for massage without licences under Section 5(1) of the Massage Establishments Act 2017, causing or contributing to the risk of dangerous fire under Section 285(1)(c) of the Penal Code 1871, abetting to secure unauthorized access to computer material under Section 3(1) read with Section 12 of the Computer Misuse Act 1993, and facilitating the retention or control of another person's benefits from criminal conduct under Section 55A(1)(a)(i) read with Section 55A(1)(b)(ii) of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}