George Town is not a 'sex city', says Penang CPO

GEORGE TOWN: Police have denied a report by a non-governmental organisation (NGO) that George Town is a 'sex city' because it has at least 200 hotspots that offer sex services. 

Penang police chief Datuk Abdul Rahim Hanafi (pic) said the NGO report based on a survey was questionable as it was conducted in 2011 with taxi drivers as the respondents. 

"The NGO's representative will be summoned to give a statement in connection with the report. The report is untrue as the police and local authorities conduct daily raids on hotels and entertainment premises. 

"We conducted up to five raids daily in order to curb such activities," he told reporters after launching a crime prevention programme for Penang secondary schools at Universiti Sains Malaysia here on Tuesday. 

The NGO, Migrants and Refugees Northern Network (JUMP) claimed that Penang, especialy George Town, has a 'thriving sex industry.' 

Abdul Rahim said the report by the NGO painted a bad image of the police and insinuated they were not doing their job. 

"Police never compromised with any party that conduct such activities (offer sex services) and always take stern action," he added.

Reports quoted a JUMP spokesman as saying that George Town had at least 200 hotspots that offer sex services, with some equipped with the Global Positioning System (GPS).