Another China study mama is in the spotlight again. This time, 37-year-old Madam Feng, who arrived in Singapore with her eight-year-old son was arrested for working as a prostitute at a massage parlour in Katong.

The Sichuan native claims that she did so to help her family who were stricken by the earthquake that occurred last month. Her parents house in her native hometown had collapsed from the tremors of the May 12 quake, and living conditions were substandard. As her younger brother was not in good health, Madam Feng told ShinMin Daily News that she decided to become a prostitute to help her family back in Sichuan.

She began her stint at the massage parlour on May 26, but had arrived in Singapore on Dec 9, last year.

Even then, she did not earn much, getting only $50 a day for her efforts.

In a desperate bid to avoid being sent back to China, she enlisted the help of a man, but ended up being swindled of $1,500.

Madam Feng used to work in a salon in China, but came to Singapore after she divorced her husband. He had given her RMB15,000 (about S$3,000), but she did not want to ask him for more money.

She said: "I know it's wrong to work in this trade, but I had to do it for my family. Unfortunately, I was caught by the police three days into work, and now I will be deported on 20 June."