Dongguan closes sex-trade saunas

Police in Dongguan, Guangdong province, have shut down or temporarily closed sauna houses in more than 10 hotels after they were found to be involved in the sex trade, authorities said.

As of Tuesday, 179 people suspected of organizing and operating prostitution in the sauna houses had been transferred to judicial departments for further investigation and possible prosecution, a statement from the Guangdong provincial public security department said on Thursday.

An investigation into prostitution cases at the Crown Prince Hotel in the city was continuing, the statement said.

Liang Yaohui, 47, the hotel boss, was detained in April. Liang, a deputy to the National People's Congress, was stripped of his position after being detained.

He was once chosen as one of the 10 outstanding and charitable people in Dongguan.

Li Chunsheng, deputy governor of Guangdong, promised to continue to redouble efforts to fight prostitution to ensure a sound environment for residents, tourists and investors.

"Guangdong will never become a haven for the prostitution industry," said Li, who is also director-general of the Guangdong provincial public security department.

Li hinted that more special campaigns will be launched to fight prostitution in the province.

Police across Guangdong had detained 3,033 suspects as of Tuesday after investigating 1,121 cases involving prostitution, the provincial public security department said. The suspects include 1,497 prostitution operators, organizers and beneficiaries.

Police have also broken up 214 gangs that organized prostitution in the prosperous province, which borders the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, the statement said.

As part of a special campaign launched in the province on Feb 10 to fight prostitution, police in 21 prefecture-level cities have inspected more than 947,000 entertainment venues and 1,200 pornographic websites. The campaign found that 3,553 entertainment venues had been involved in the illegal sex trade or had violated related laws, regulations and rules.

These venues, including sauna houses, KTV halls, karaoke bars, beauty salons and foot massage centers, have been shut down or closed for correction and improvement, the statement said.