By Carolyn Quek

Batam is slowly joining South Korea and Thailand as destinations for Singaporeans looking for that 'nip and tuck' job.

No longer just a sex haven for Singaporean men, the island's growing aesthetic medicine treatment industry is drawing Singaporean men and women to its shores.

Business is especially brisk on weekends and public holidays, with patients flocking there for procedures like Botox and intense pulsed light (IPL) treatments.

Prices are at least 25 per cent cheaper than in Singapore.

There are at least eight aesthetic clinics on Batam, which is more than half the size of Singapore and only an hour away by ferry.

Some clinics come with sections offering Indonesian massage.

Aesthetic doctor Hendry Hartono (top), who owns one of the more popular aesthetic clinics in Batam, set up shop there three years ago so that he could be close to Singapore 'to learn from Singapore doctors'.

The general practitioner has seen his Singapore customer base grow from 'not many' to forming almost 30 per cent of his clientele.

He said he has seen about 1,000 Singapore customers. Most of his other customers are Indonesians and he also gets Malaysian clients from time to time.

Over the Deepavali holiday weekend, 14 Singaporeans visited his clinic, Prestige Aesthetic Clinic.

An impressive off-white shophouse, it stands out from the other units along a dusty stretch of road in the town of Bolai, a 10-minute drive from the ferry terminal.

Dr Hartono, 40, operates his business from 10am to 9pm daily, with two other doctors and several beauty therapists helping him.

He said he was originally from Surabaya, where he earned his medical degree. He also practised there for a few years before making the move to Batam.

While he is not a plastic surgeon, he has taken courses in aesthetic medical treatments, he said.

Smiling receptionists and the scent of essential oils greet you when you enter his three-storey clinic. A spiral staircase and a water fountain add a decorative touch.

Clients waiting for their appointments are served 'healing' tea while watching Fashion TV, a cable channel, on a plasma TV set.

The clinic also operates as a spa, so customers can choose between medical and non-medical treatments. The former offers cosmetic procedures like chemical peels, microdermabrasion, mesotherapy, whitening treatments and Botox.

The non-medical treatments include massages, facials and hair treatments.

Dr Hartono said that about 40 per cent of his Singapore customers go for the medical cosmetic procedures and the rest opt for the spa treatments. Some ask for both.

Top on their list: microdermabrasion and chemical peels, followed by Botox and IPL.

'I think they come to me because it's cheaper in Indonesia,' he said.

Prestige Aesthetics' price list states that a unit of Botox costs 110,000 rupiah, or about $15. In Singapore, general practitioners or plastic surgeons charge between $10 and $20 per unit.

Chemical peels cost from about $30 to $65 at Prestige Aesthetics, considerably less than the $80 to $120 charged here.

IPL treatments at the clinic can cost from about $130 to $360, while the average price here is about $250.

Dr Hartono said most of his Singapore customers get to hear of his clinic through word of mouth. About 70 per cent are women.

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