HE had never held so much money in his hands before - $10,000, to be precise.

The money was payment for 'services rendered', and it amounted to 20 times what he usually earns for each project in his day job as a freelance graphic designer.

But for Mr Ed Tan, 26, his 'other job' is not something that he'd want others to know about.

He's a male social escort.

Mr Tan claims that he was driven to his new line of work because of the economic downturn.

He told The New Paper on Sunday that fewer companies now approach him for graphic design work.

'I earn about $500 per project, so when I got fewer projects, my income dropped a lot,' he said.

He needed money urgently to pay the fees for his part-time marketing degree course, which costs about $1,000 a month.

'I was telling my friend about my financial difficulties one night, and he suggested becoming a social escort. I learnt that he was an escort himself. He told me what it's like, and here we are,' Mr Tan said matter-of-factly.

His first assignment was to entertain some women at a hen party at St James Power Station in December last year.

This he did by performing 'magic tricks with cards' and mingling with them.

He was paid $2,000, and has since got two more jobs. All his clients are Singaporean women.

His most recent assignment was last month, when he accompanied a tai-tai in her early 30s to shop and have dinner.

He earned $3,000.

Failed marriage

'This tai-tai's husband was cheating on her. Hers is a failed marriage. They married early, and everything went downhill from there,' Ed said.

His $10,000 assignment happened a few months ago.

His client was a 40-year-old tai-tai who was having a 'mid-life crisis'.

On their date, they went shopping before having dinner at Sushi Tei in Ngee Ann City.

Mr Tan said: 'Over dinner, she told me about how her husband was away for work all the time. She wanted to work, but her husband did not allow her to.'

She also suspected that her businessman husband was keeping a mistress.

Husband overseas

After dinner, the 'plain-looking' tai-tai asked him to accompany her home.

He agreed.

'Her husband was overseas on work. She drives a BMW and lives in Bukit Timah. We got to her house, and her kids were out,' he recalled.

So how did she broach the topic of sex?

Mr Tan said: 'She asked me, 'You want some extra money?' I asked her jokingly how she wanted to pay me. Then she suggested having more drinks first.'

The two then headed to the master bedroom, where they had some drinks.

The sex, which was protected, 'happened naturally,' said Mr Tan, who issingle.

'It wasn't my first time, but I was uncomfortable in the beginning. The drinks definitely helped, though. We talked a lot, and the communication helped too.'

The next morning, everything happened quickly, he said.

They woke up, she paid him $10,000 in cash, and he left quickly. The fee for the 18hours he had spent with her came to $9,000, and the remaining $1,000 was the 'extra' she had promised him. 20 per cent of the fee would go to the agency.

'It's purely a one-off thing,' he said.

Mr Tan also wanted to dispel the perception that tai-tais are haughty and arrogant people.

'They just need somebody to talk to, because nobody is actually listening to them. Contrary to what most people think, these tai-tais are smart people, and they're down-to-earth.'

Despite enjoying his new job, Ed has no plans to let his parents know about what he does.

'I will never tell my family, my parents will have a heart attack. They are educated, traditional people, and they will freak out,' he said.

He also admitted that he is scared of being seen by people he knows while he's on the job.

So he refrains from having physical contact with the women while in public, but admits that he does not have a ready excuse if he does bump into a familiar face.

If he's so worried, why not just ask his retired parents to help him with his school fees?

'I think my parents have worked hard enough, and they should enjoy their retirement,' he said.

Ed also admitted to being a shopaholic, and said he spends about $1,000 each month on branded clothes.

He said that he plans to continue being a social escort until the end of his degree course in June 2010.

'With such good money, it is hard to stop. But there has to be an end to everything. If you're really greedy and don't limit yourself, bad things will happen,' he said.

This article was first published in The New Paper.