Her job as a receptionist paid only about $1,600.

She discussed it with her then-boyfriend, who agreed that the opportunity would hasten their money-saving process.

"We had planned to get married the next year, and we felt that the money I'd make would mean we could possibly buy an apartment," recounts Snowy.

Six months later, she arrived in Singapore and was taken right away to a photo studio.

There, she had to change into four sets of outfits - a nurse's uniform, a red slip dress, a tube-top-and-shorts combo and a white evening dress.

A woman, whom the agent introduced as his sister, helped to do her make-up and hair.

After the photoshoot, which lasted about two hours, Snowy was given an agreement to sign.

"Everything was in English and I wasn't quite sure what it was, but since I was here already, I just signed it," she recalls.

The agent briefly explained that the agreement only meant that Snowy was not allowed to go anywhere without permission from her Singaporean guardian.

It also stated that she had to give up 80 per cent of her earnings for the first six months as agency commission, following which the cut would be reduced to 50 per cent.

She says: "I thought it was all very reasonable terms, since I only had to pay for my own air ticket here."

Snowy was only "somewhat uneasy" later when she was handed a kit that contained five packets of condoms as a welcome gift, but she didn't ask any questions.

"Oh, there's something else which I thought was really funny," she says. "I was given a really strange list."

Included in the list of English vocabulary were words like "take off", "bra", "panties", "shirt", "mouth", "hand" and "condom".

"Funny, ya?" she says. "Actually, I think I knew then what it was all about, but I just wanted to believe or think otherwise."

Snowy was taken to a three-room apartment, which she had to share with four other women of different nationalities.

After about two weeks of "doing nothing" at home, the agent's sister told her that she had an assignment as a model for a flier.

"The photoshoot took nearly four hours, and all I had to do was to pretend to sit on a bed and pout or smile. It was so boring and I was paid only $100, but I ended up getting only $10," she says.

"When the ahjuma (auntie in Korean) saw my unhappy face, she told me that I could earn more money if I didn't mind accompanying some important businessmen to certain events or functions."

Snowy admits that she "knew immediately" what that meant.

"I asked the ahjuma if I am expected to have sex with them, and she said, 'It's up to you'."

She leans back, takes a sip of her green tea, then says: "You know what? This kind of jobs pays well. So much better."

Snowy refuses to confirm what she can earn from each assignment. But The New Paper on Sunday understands that prices for a 45-minute to an hour-long session can start from $280 and go up to $500 for the more popular escorts.

Despite arrests and clampdowns, sex rings are undeterred and continue to advertise their services online. Charlene Pang Siew Ting, 26, had assisted a vice syndicate that was operating four websites, namely TK Lover, Asia Dollies, 1SGF and Precious Model, which was later rebranded as Korean Kimchi. She was jailed four months last week for being part of an online vice ring.

In a report published by The New Paper last February, a source said: "You chop off one syndicate head, seven others will appear. It's easy money that nobody would want to miss out on."

A Singaporean executive, who is familiar with how such syndicates work, also said: "The people who run such businesses are invisible. You'll never meet them.

"An SMS reply would give you the time and venue to meet the prostitutes. They then change their mobile phone numbers regularly."

Many of the mobile phone numbers are on prepaid cards registered to migrant workers or people outside the vice trade.

Transactions between male customers and the prostitutes are carried out in the privacy of a hotel room or a home.

In 2010, 7,083 foreign women were arrested, compared to 7,614 the previous year. In 2011, there was a significant drop, with 5,206 foreign women arrested.

Asked if she has any fears about being arrested or if there are any regrets, she remains silent for several minutes. Our interpreter has to repeat the question.

She muses: "Of course, I am worried, but I take each day as it comes. Anyway, I intend to quit soon.

"As for regrets, well, my boyfriend broke up with me when I confirmed his suspicions that my job wasn't that clean. So yes, I regret that I will not be getting married because I really loved him.

"But right now, I'm saving up all my money and I can return home soon."

And her plans?

"I want to go for plastic surgery from top to toe, and from there, I want to go into showbiz. Who knows, the next time you see me, I may be one of the top actresses in Seoul," she says.

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