No Singaporeans
Mr Kalastree said the companies include those from the US, UK, Canada, Germany
and Switzerland.
He said they didn't want their employees to violate the laws of that respective
country which might embarrass the company.
"The 25 cases I've handled involved mostly Caucasian men," said Mr Kalastree.
"Southeast Asia is a haven for them. Most of them went for young girls and only
two went for boys."
He said none of them involved Singaporeans.
Child sex tourism cases were almost unheard of five years ago, he said. His
firm handles mainly commercial cases.
But, with more countries coming down hard on such crimes, he's been getting
more referrals.
He would usually contract the jobs to the licensed PIs in countries such as
Thailand, Cambodia and Laos as he does not have a licence to work there.
But he and Madam Woo sometimes travel to advise these PIs on how to approach
the case and to verify their reports.
Business as Excuse
Mr Kalastree said some of these child sex tourists set up businesses in Asian
countries so they have an excuse to travel there often.
They may be from the IT or the garment trade. Most of the men are professionals
such as engineers.
Last year, he and his wife travelled to Thailand to observe an Irish accountant
in his 40s who was married with a 10-year-old daughter and an 8-year-old son.
Mr Kalastree said, "His employers suspected him of buying sex from children. He
liked teenage girls around 14 to 16 years old and would frequent lounges where
these girls would dance naked in front of him on bar tops."
"Some of these lounges or nightclubs are connected to apartments and he would
then take one or two of the girls to his room later."
Mr Kalastree said he does not have evidence of them having sex as they were
unable to enter the room. But he said he does have evidence of the girls
dancing naked in front of him and spending time with him.
He said they monitored the man for about six months before submitting reports
to the man's employers, who then told the wife.
Mr Kalastree said the woman sued her husband for compensation then divorced
him. He said he does not know if the man was prosecuted as his main role was to
gather evidence.
Liked Boys
Then there was the case of the British oil and gas executive in his 50s who was
married and travelled often to Thailand.
He liked boys.
This was two years ago. His company hired a British PI because they wanted to
know why the executive travelled to Thailand so often. The PI then sought Mr
Kalastree's help.
Mr Kalastree and Madam Woo flew to Thailand and found that the man stayed at a
hotel and had been bringing a teenage boy back to his room every night for two
weeks.
The boy was about 14 or 15 years old.
Again, Mr Kalastree submitted his reports to the UK. It is not known how the
man was dealt with or if he is still married to his wife. Mr Kalastree does not
know if they have children.
But if you think it's only the men who are buying sex, think again.
Mr Kalastree and Madam Woo once went to Bali after a rich Japanese businessman
asked them to monitor his daughter who loved travelling there.
What the couple found confirmed the father's suspicions.
Paid for Companion
The woman, who was in her late 20s, had been paying a 20-year-old security
guard to have sex with her and to be her companion.
Mr Kalastree and his wife soon realised that this was not uncommon as he learnt
from a male sex worker that Japanese women loved going there to have sex with
young men and boys.
Mr Kalastree says "We saw many Japanese women there. And he told me that's why
many boys learn to speak Japanese - to cater to these women. They are paid
US$100 a day, excluding perks like meals and shopping."
His team even managed to videotape the couple in the hotel room. Although they
did not film the couple having sex, they were able to film their belongings in
the same room and used condoms lying around.
After a month of surveillance, they handed in their report.
The grateful businessman paid the couple US$30,000 for a job well done.
Mr Kalastree said he is paid between US$8,000 and US$10,000 for each child-sex
tourism case he investigates.
For Madam Woo, the job can be emotionally painful. Whenever she sees young kids
involved, it breaks her heart.
She and Mr Kalastree have two daughters who are single and in their 30s.
Being a mother with daughters makes it especially hard for her on assignment.
She said, "As a mother, I feel sad seeing these children with old men. Some are
forced to do it to support their families. Some do it because they think it's
fun or it's something different from their lives in the village."
"This is so especially when their customers take them to expensive restaurants
and hotels."
Social Responsibility
Mr Kalastree said one way to deter Singapore men from travelling overseas to
have sex with children is to have laws here to punish them if they are caught
doing so abroad.
Singapore currently does not have any such laws.
He said, "Older men, like retirees, would be more tempted because they have the
time and the money. We can't prevent them from travelling overseas but we can
have laws to punish them."
"If we want our citizens to be socially responsible, we must have such laws.
Morally it's the right thing to do."
