Fort Road beach: gay aspects

=Cruising ground= A new experience in open-air cruising afforded itself in the 1980s when a huge stretch of the East Coast was reclaimed by land filling. The minimum period for the earth to settle and compact before the virgin land could be developed or have structures built upon it was 10 years. Therefore, during this time gays would venture there, despite having to brave a long trek through secondary forest, to be able to cruise at the beach in splendid seclusion.

This cruising ground became popularly known as Fort Road beach by the cognoscenti although there existed no official name for this stretch of beach. There were two main portions. The moiety on the left, facing the sea, became closed off to the public in the mid-1990s and thus could no longer be used for romping around. This area became overgrown with undergrowth in due course. Gay cruisers had to be content with the right half which was had a slightly different character because of different geographical features. Fort Road beach became so popular with gay men using it for skinny dipping and sex, either in the more interior forested area, or for the more daring ones right on the open beach or in the sea, that it attracted several tabloid articles which emblazoned titles such as "Homosexuals pollute East Coast". The New Paper and the Chinese-language evening tabloids on several occasions carried blurred pictures of men apparently having sex or walking naked along the beach. Some gay men nicknamed the beach and the area directly inland, which was also very cruisy at night and appealed those who did not want to trudge all the way to the seaside, Paradise.

The right half of the beach eventually also became closed to the public in early 2010 as development of the area was ramped up full swing.  

=Police entrapment= Complaints from the public and sensationalism in the tabloid press led to sting operations in which handsome plainclothes police decoys would act in an enticing manner at Fort Road beach to attract the homosexual men wandering around. When the cruisers touched the decoys sexually, they were immediately arrested. The most publicised entrapment operation occurred in September 1993 when 12 men were apprehended. They were all charged with outrage of modesty. 6 pleaded guilty. They were sentenced to 3 strokes of the cane each and imprisonment ranging from 2 to 6 months. The names, ages and occupations of all 12 men were published in all major Singaporean newspapers.

The following article reporting on the entrapment operation and aftermath was published in The Straits Times on 23 November 1993. Even though the mainstream media referred to the location as "Tanjong Rhu", gay men who cruised there always used the name Fort Road beach or just Fort Road. Therefore, this event is sometimes referred to as the Fort Road incident. Tanjong Rhu was generally understood by most Singaporeans to be the residential area inland of Fort Road. 

Editable text of article
12 men nabbed in anti-gay operation at Tanjong Rhu

Twelve men were arrested for alleged sexual offences in the space of a week at a reclaimed piece of land at Tanjong Rhu during an anti-gay operation by the police.

Among those arrested in the operation and charged with allegedly outraging their victims' modesty were a broadcasting producer and a butcher.

In the mid-September operation, plainclothes policemen from the Geylang Police Division Headquarters posed as decoys.

They would identify themselves when contact was made before back-up officers moved in to help round up the alleged offenders.

Only six of the 12 men pleaded guilty in court yesterday.

The rest claimed trial.

Those who pleaded guilty received sentences ranging from two to six months' jail.

All of them were also ordered to be given three strokes of the cane each.

In one case, salesman and part-time karaoke assistant XXX, 26, chatted up a special constable before proceeding to caress his buttock and chest. He was sentenced to six months' jail.

In another, hawker assistant XXX, 33, started rubbing an inspector's private parts. For his act of indecency, he was sentenced to five months' jail.

The other four men who similarly pleaded guilty to using criminal force to molest their victims were XXX, 28, unemployed, who was given five months' jail; hawker XXX, 43, who was sentenced to four months' jail; tailor XXX, 34, who received a three-month jail term; and tailor XXX 33, who was jailed for two months.

One of the accused who claimed trial, contract worker XXX, 35, told the court: "The guy had approached me and smiled, so I walked over to chitchat with him".

He said that the other man had suggested having sex in the nearby undergrowth.

"Since he was so keen, I thought I would satisfy his need," he said. His case will be heard on Nov 29.

Another accused, butcher XXX, 25, who pleaded guilty initially, later said that the complainant had asked him to touch him.

XXX's case, together with those of factory operator XXX, 32; hotel handyman XXX, 48; flight steward XXX, 29; and SBC producer XXX, 36, will be mentioned next month.

=Reaction of gay community=

=See also=


 * Singapore gay venues: historical

=References=
 * "Words From The Man", Blowing Wind, 23 October 2007.