The police are putting an end to licensing exemptions for massage establishments as new set of regulations come into effect from the second half of this year.This means that open-concept massage establishments — presently exempted from licensing — will soon need to comply with «fit and proper» requirements under a new «Category 3» licensing regime.Category 1 licences are granted to those which operate in HDB shop houses, shopping centres and hotels, while Category 2 licences are given to those operating away from residential areas, schools and places of worship.Among the requirements: ensuring that rooms, partitions or cubicles are not set up within the establishment, and obtaining land use approval from HDB and Urban Redevelopment Authority before the premises can be used as an open-concept massage establishment.Police said in a news release on Tuesday (April 21) that they have observed a steady rise in public unhappiness over the system, which they said came from the increase in number of open-concept massage establishments and the social disamenities they create.  Read more