KUALA LUMPUR: Those in Selangor incensed by the open flesh trade in their areas may be hoping against hope for action to be taken against vice dens that seem to be operating with impunity under the noses of law enforcement.
Authorities fighting to shut down prostitution dens admit that it’s an uphill battle as they confirm the existence of an intricate and complex “protection” system offered by the agencies that are supposed to keep the scourge at bay.
The New Straits Times Special Probes Team had, for several months, conducted stakeouts at several vice dens in the state.
Part of the plan was for the team and its contacts to gain the trust of some operators as well as understand what goes on in this world that allowed the illicit business to thrive.
The team had, by chance, witnessed what was supposed to have been a raid on a vice den by a local authority’s enforcement team.
The operator would have been caught red-handed for abusing its operating licence as his outlet was running the flesh trade under the guise of a reflexology centre. Instead, the team of enforcers was basically in and out of the premises.
In its past trips to the outlet, the team discovered that the outlet offered everything but the mapping of one’s acupressure points.
Even the decor, with partitions and mattresses, was a clear, telltale sign that what was offered required more than a cushioned seat and stretched out legs.
Later that night, the team noted that the partitions where foreign women served their clients — both local and foreign men — were still standing strong. So were the mattresses and worn-out sheets.
Sources familiar with how these operators worked and ran their businesses let the team in on the secret.
The intricate business of protecting operators of vice dens usually begins from the time they apply for licences from the local authority’s licensing department.
An operator told the team that his reflexology centre, which offered sexual services, including the highly sought-after “ping-pong” and body-to-body massages, as well as “full packages” (sexual intercourse for between RM120 and RM300), had been running without hassle from the local authority.
“The officer at the department made it quite clear that my permit would not be granted... but towards the end of our little chat, he slipped in that his superior could make it happen for some RM50,000.
“I paid and, not long after that, I got my reflexology centre operating permit. Of course, while waiting for the permit, there were extra amounts I had to cough up... but it was worth the investment,” said the man in his 40s.
The team learnt that while the licence for massage parlours had long been frozen, getting an exemption was possible at the right price, using a special licence code.
The under-the-counter price for such licences ranges between RM10,000 and RM60,000.
Another person involved in the illicit business revealed that while those employed to “work” as reflexologists would be required to undergo medical checks, he only paid less than RM200 for every employee and they would be able to skip the process that could risk them being considered unfit for work.
He told the team that most walk-in customers would ask if his centre offered massages and “extra” services, other than reflexology.
Like most in the business, they have no choice but to disguise their operations under such centres.
He sourced his “masseuses” from China and Vietnam, among other countries. They enter the country with social visit visas.
The team learnt that Selangor had, since 2009, frozen the issuance of permits for massage services and allowed only reflexology and foot massage centres to operate.
The president of a municipal council told the team that it was easy to detect illegal massage parlours, as those set up after 2008 were unlicensed.
After the issue of licencing was out of the way, operators of these vice dens often have to deal with enforcers, including those from the local authority that issued them the permit, as well as the police and Immigration. Greasing the palms of authorities would give these operators some leeway.
This would cost them between RM500 and RM1,000 a month for each agency to look the other way.
Paying them would free the operators from having to observe otherwise stringent regulations, including observing their “reflexology” centres’ 1am closing time.
They do not have to worry about employing illegal foreigners or having workers decently attired or sending them for medical check-ups every six months.
Other rules that they get to circumvent include those that state such premises have to be properly lit, doors kept unlocked during operating hours, no partitions installed and that customers had to have their identification details recorded.
These are requirements that prostitution dens are unlikely to observe.
In one district that the team studied, the officer in charge of a nearby police station gets a monthly “income” of RM500 from each owner of a centre there running the illicit flesh trade.
Another policeman in charge of another station, when asked about the goings-on in the area under his jurisdiction, responded with the familiar refrain: “That comes under the jurisdiction of the local authority”.
The team contacted Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Investigations and Intelligence chief Datuk Azam Baki to ask why this had been allowed to go on.
The commission, he said, was aware that some personnel in enforcement agencies were in cahoots with operators of prostitution dens in the state.
“Their activities have not gone undetected. It is a let-down because these people, who are supposed to uphold and enforce the law, can be so easily bought, allowing crime to take place.
“We are on the pulse of what is going on and will come in to stop this nonsense, but at the same time, we are hopeful that the heads of these agencies, including those on the ground, will do their part to make sure there are no rogue officers among them.”