120 foreign women nabbed in vice operation

PETALING JAYA: A massive operation on nightspots and brothels in Kuantan, Pahang, by the Immigration Department has led to the arrest of 151 people, including 120 foreign women.

Immigration deputy director-general (operations) Jafri Embok Taha said 17 premises comprising four entertainment centres, nine nightclubs and four “vice dens” were raided in the special operation at 11pm on Friday.

He said investigations revealed that the operators of the entertainment centres had promoted and offered sexual services by posting the photos of the foreign women on social media platforms, charging clients RM300 to RM400 per session according to their “package” of choice.

The vice dens also entertained walk-in clients, who were allowed to pick the women of their choice from a photo album before being shown to special rooms by the caretakers for their trysts, added Jafri.

“We also discovered secret rooms built within the premises which were used for hiding the foreign women when the authorities conducted raids.

“There was also a case of a foreign man who was injured when he tried to escape from the raiding party by jumping from the second floor of a building. Medical aid was promptly rendered to him.

“We will continue taking stern action against those who commit offences related to immigration laws,” he said in a statement yesterday.

Most of those arrested in the operation were Thai women, at 103 individuals, while the rest of the foreigners were from Vietnam, Myanmar, Indonesia, Laos, China and Bangladesh, all aged between 19 and 49.

Jafri said 11 Malaysian men aged between 25 and 46 who were working as caretakers of the raided centres were also among those held for harbouring undocumented foreigners.

Preliminary checks showed that 84 of the foreign women and 10 Bangladeshis possessed social visit visas and temporary work visas, while the rest failed to produce any travel documents that permitted them to be in Malaysia, he added.

Jafri said the operation, jointly carried out by personnel from the Putrajaya Immigration Department and their counterparts from Pahang, Perlis, Perak and Negri Sembilan, was launched following public complaints and intelligence gathering from surveillance conducted by the department for over three weeks.

He said the detained foreigners were being held at the Pahang Immigration headquarters, adding that the department had also issued notices to 40 Malaysians to show up and assist investigators with the case.