501 suspects captured in prostitution crackdown

Chinese police have captured 501 suspects and busted 73 gangs during a crackdown on prostitution and pornography, the Ministry of Public Security said on Monday.

More than 1,300 cases of organizing, luring or introducing sex services have been uncovered by police, and 2,410 locations involved in prostitution or pornography have had their businesses shut, the ministry said. 

The locations generally refer to hotels, karaoke bars and saunas.

The large-scale crackdown came hours after a China Central Television (CCTV) program on February 9 revealed that hotels in the southern city of Dongguan were offering sex services.

Yan Xiaokang, vice mayor of Dongguan and head of the city's Public Security Bureau, has been removed from his post for dereliction of duty.

Sex trade is illegal in China.An unidentified official with the ministry said public security organs at different levels should learn lessons from the Dongguan case and carry out a "persistent" and "deepened" crackdown on crimes involving prostitution.

The official asked them to focus on organizers, operators and the "protective umbrella" of the sex trade.

The ministry reiterated its stance on prostitution, saying that leaders of public security organs will be held accountable if they are found to be in dereliction of duty.

Statistics from the ministry showed last year police apprehended 19,000 suspects and broke up 6,323 pornography-related gangs, with 12,000 cases being solved.