KUALA LUMPUR: The food court at Jalan Kalong, Pudu, which was recently raided by police for engaging in prostitution following a media exposé, has been operating illegally since 2019.
Kuala Lumpur City Hall said that the food court has been operating without a licence, with the last licence issued by City Hall expiring in 2019.
City Hall said that the management's application for a licence renewal in 2019 was not approved because the food court was found to be employing foreign workers and engaging in immoral activities.
"The food court was also ordered to close in 2018 for engaging in immoral activities but continued to operate without a licence after the Movement Control Order (MCO) period ended," reported a City Hall spokesperson, as quoted by Harian Metro.
Earlier, a Harian Metro report revealed a hotspot of prostitution activities around Pudu, including prostitutes roaming to find customers at a food court on Jalan Gelang and Jalan Kalong, which was raided last Saturday.
The police raided the food court on Jalan Gelang and Jalan Kalong and detained 27 people, including guest relations officers (GROs) and prostitutes.
The raid was conducted by the Anti-Vice, Gambling, and Secret Societies Division (D7) of the Federal Police Criminal Investigation Department (CID) following Harian Metro's previous report on the food court's offering of sexual services for as low as RM100.