Spa Front For Immoral Activities Busted, 19 Women Arrested - JIM

PUTRAJAYA, Jan 29 (Bernama) -- The Immigration Department (JIM) uncovered immoral activities disguised as beauty and spa services at four locations in Kuala Lumpur and Puchong, leading to the arrest of 19 foreign women on Jan 27.

Its director-general Datuk Zakaria Shaaban said the premises used legitimate beauty and spa centre licences, displaying signs and offering treatments to deceive the authorities.

“The illegal services were not advertised openly. Instead, they were promoted through Telegram and WhatsApp to select customers,” he said in a statement today.

“The customers were offered regular massage services, while secret codes were used to access additional services,” Zakaria said, adding that the premises were modified and equipped with tight security systems.

The charges for the services ranged from RM180 to RM250, and the operation is believed to have been running since March last year.

Those arrested included 12 Filipinas, six Vietnamese, and one Mongolian, aged between 22 and 48.

Initial checks showed that three Vietnamese women held social visit passes (PLS), the Mongolian woman had a student pass, and  the 12 Filipinas held domestic helper passes. The others had no valid travel documents or passes to stay in the country.

“During the operation, we confiscated nine Filipino passports, three Vietnamese passports, a Mongolian passport, five mobile phones, a QR payment scanner, employee records, transaction books, business licences, Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) documents, and RM1,500 in cash,” he said.

Zakaria added that those detained were believed to have violated the Immigration Act 1959/63 and were taken to the Putrajaya Immigration Office for further action.

Seven local men were issued notices to assist with the investigation.

-- BERNAMA