Underage boy held during vice raid

BUTTERWORTH: A 14-year-old boy who is believed to have hired the service of a prostitute was found hiding inside a cupboard when Immigration officers raided a budget hotel near here.

State Immigration Department enforcement division chief Basri Othman said the youth was taken to the state Immigration headquarters in Seberang Jaya to have his statement recorded, and was later released.

In the operation at about midnight yesterday, Immigration officers detained six foreign women believed to be involved in vice activities at two budget hotels in George Town.

It is also learnt that one of the women tried to escape while completely naked.

Basri said 25 Immigration officers and personnel were involved in the raids.

He said the women detained were two Laotian, two Vietnamese and an Indonesian who had social visit passes and a Nigerian who was in possession of a student pass.

“A surveillance at both hotels last week showed that the women charged their clients between RM120 and RM150 for their services,” he said when contacted.

All the women were taken to the Immigration detention camp in Juru near Bukit Mertajam pending investigation.