KUALA LUMPUR: They are Bollywood-themed nightclubs, over four floors of the Kompleks Wilayah in the heart of Kuala Lumpur.
Bangladeshi and Pakistani-looking men, and women clad in sarees throng the place – but there was more to the entertainment outlets than just song and dance.
For the right amount of money, the sarees come off.
Many of the women offer provocative dances and striptease performances. The men get to buy tokens in the form of fake money, which they then throw at the women.
When enough cash is on the stage, some of the women go further and strip down.
Their operations were laid bare by police who raided the outlets on Sunday and arrested 38 people for violating Immigration rules and regulations.
Police checked 79 men, including 71 foreigners who were customers at the raided outlets.
“We also checked 34 women who worked as GROs-cum-dancers,” said Senior Asst Comm Fadil Marsus, the principal assistant director of CID Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants division (D3).
He said the main objective of the operation was to see if there were any human trafficking victims there.
He said police conducted the raid at around 2.50am on Sunday after receiving information on such activity.
The outlets operated from 7pm to 7am. They are also owned by foreigners, and employed only foreign workers.
“The managers and workers, as well as most of the customers, were Bangladeshi.
“We are taking the matter seriously, where entertainment outlets are fully controlled by foreigners,” CID deputy director Deputy Comm Datuk Rusdi Mohd Isa said yesterday.
DCP Rusdi also said police were investigating elements of human trafficking involving the 34 women, who worked as GROs.
“All of them have valid travel documents but we are checking further with the Immigration Department,” he said.
DCP Rusdi said the police hadbeen continuously monitoring and taking action against entertainment outlets which had violated laws and regulations.
While it was up to local authorities to issue licences to such businesses, he said police had been active in conducting operations against outlets which had committed offences, including for human trafficking and vice activities.
“The four clubs at Kompleks Wilayah were licensed by Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), thus City Hall should have monitored them.
“However, the police have to ensure everyone adheres to the laws and regulations,” he said, adding that Dang Wangi police had raided the premises previously.“There are many entertainment outlets and we cannot check all of them at once, thus we do it in stages.”
