Sex workers raise fees after crackdown in S China  

东莞扫黄风声紧多家娱乐场所被封 小姐要价上涨

(ECNS) -- Some entertainment venues in south China's Dongguan city are still offering sex services, even though 12 venues have been shut down by police, the Beijing News said.

Some sex workers have also raised their fees, the newspaper said.

The city launched a harsh crackdown on underground prostitution Sunday after CCTV broadcast hidden camera footage of scantily clad women parading at venues, and managers openly introducing customers to prostitution services.

Reporters found on Monday afternoon that Kangyi Leisure Club and Dongzhen Hotel in Zhongtang Township, two of the 12 venues, had been cordoned off by police.

An employee at a store next to the club said: "Three police cars and more than 60 policemen came to the club last night, but no one was taken to the police station." He added that police investigated the club last summer, but it re-opened two months later.

Guards at the nearby Fengyuan Hotel halted the reporter, saying the hotel was "on a vacation," while staff at two other hotels said their massage centers were closed. All three hotels had been exposed by CCTV on Sunday.

However, at a KTV inside a luxury hotel in urban Dongguan, a manager named Zheng Songlei said he could "arrange young women for selection, and that 1,000 yuan would get you all around service," but that he couldn't do it now.

Zheng said he could get several women to accompany guests for 500 yuan each, but only for singing and drinking. "Dongguan has been on TV and you can't find a sex worker in the city tonight," he added.

Another tout boasted that he could find five or six women, but not for "beauty show" activities. "The price they charge is also higher," he added.

The Ministry of Public Security said in a statement that there will be a crackdown on organizers, operators and the "protective umbrella" of the sex trade in the city, and that local police will be investigated for dereliction of duty.

Dongguan, which has become one of the world's major manufacturing and trade hubs, is also famous for its lavish underground casino resorts, bath centers, massage parlors and backstreet brothels. The sex industry is reportedly so lucrative that the city is known as China's "sex capital."