When marketing executive Carol Tan, 33, asked for a "quick meeting" with her boss, the managing director of a foreign firm, he responded with a loud chuckle: "You want a quickie."

The jokes and innuendos soon grew more crude. Before long, he was reaching over to stroke her cheek and hold her hand.

The married mother of two was a new employee at the small Singapore office of an oil and gas company with its headquarters in Europe. She asked her older women colleagues if such behaviour was common with the boss. "I was told it was," she told The Sunday Times.

By the time he proceeded to give her a shoulder rub - in full view of a male colleague - she began looking for another job.

She also approached her company's human resource department to lodge a complaint of sexual harassment. She said she had witnesses, but was told little could be done since her boss was the "top guy in Singapore".

She then complained to the police. After three months, she was told that her boss had been "administered a warning in lieu of prosecution". He also sent her a phone message saying sorry.

"What I was really looking for was that the company would get better policies on reporting harassment. A warning and an SMS apology were just not enough," said Ms Tan. "It could happen again."

Employees who claim sexual harassment at work and lodge complaints have ended up deeply dissatisfied with the outcomes, said those who spoke to The Sunday Times.

The issue of workplace sexual harassment is being raised by the Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware) which is releasing a 70-page report and launching a public campaign today outlining shortcomings in Singapore's current laws and workplace policies with regard to preventing harassment and protecting victims.