JOHOR BARU, Sept 3 — Johor police have crippled a prostitution syndicate that was active on social media platforms in the last two years, following a series of raids at several budget hotels here recently.
The raids saw the arrest of 13 of the syndicate’s key members, including a local woman and also 31 foreign women believed to be employed as sex workers.
Johor police chief Datuk Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay said the raids were initiated by a team from Bukit Aman and the state Criminal Investigation Department (CID) from August 27 to September 2.
He said the raids saw the arrest of the syndicate’s members that have been identified as locals as well as the foreign women from Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam.
“Those caught were between the ages of 19 and 63,” said Ayob Khan.
Ayob Khan revealed that the syndicate, having been active since 2018, was known to use text messaging apps such as WeChat, MiChat and WhatsApp to reach out to potential customers.
“The syndicate members will usually display pictures of the women on the apps to those who came to the hotels, before bringing them to their rooms.
“Checks revealed that the syndicate charges between RM190 and RM650 for each customer and the rates can vary according to the packages with additional charges for transportation to specific locations as well,” said Ayob Khan in a press conference held at the Johor police contingent headquarters here today.
Ayob Khan said further investigations also revealed that the syndicate targeted mainly foreign workers as their customer base.
He said the police are currently on the lookout for remaining members of the syndicate.
The case is being investigated under Section 373 of the Penal Code for using a premise for immoral activity and Section 372B of the Panel Code for soliciting for the purpose of prostitution.
In addition to that, police will also investigate the case under Section 6(1)(c) and Section 15(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63 as well as Section 39(B) of the Immigration Regulations 1959/63.
