‘Nenek’ Offering Sexual Services In Bukit Bintang Arrested By PDRM
According to the Dang Wangi Chief of Police, the suspects had no identification documents and were believed to have entered the country as tourists.
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The Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) carried out Ops Noda, an operation to crack down on prostitution activities, in the Bukit Bintang area last Saturday (9 November).
According to a Bernama report, the operation which took place around 11:30pm that day saw police successfully detaining four foreign individuals who were believed to have been offering sexual services in the area.
Dang Wangi Police Chief Assistant Commissioner Sulizmie Affendy Sulaiman said all the individuals involved were suspected to have entered the country as tourists and ran prostitution activities around Bukit Bintang.
Woman known as ‘Nenek’ among those arrested for providing sexual services
An elderly woman known as ‘Nenek’ or ‘Grandma’ was among the four individuals who were arrested during the operation.
“The raid carried out by a team from the Kuala Lumpur Contingent Police Headquarters’ Crime Investigation of Immorality, Gambling, and Gangs Division (D7) detained four women from Iran, Uzbekistan, and Thailand between the ages of 35 and 50.”
“Also confiscated during the raid were eight condoms, RM3,720 and USD$150 in cash, four mobile phones, a packet of wet wipes, gel lubricant, and keys,” said the police chief.
Sexual services starting from RM100
According to Sulizmie, further investigations found the prostitution services fee started with a price of around RM100.
“Investigations revealed that the suspects offer a price for sexual services before their client is brought to a room rented by the suspect in a budget hotel in the Bukit Bintang area.”
“All the suspects are believed to be operating on a freelance basis, without being controlled by another party,” he said in a Sinar Harian report.
All four suspects had no identification documents
Checks revealed that all the arrested suspects did not have any identification documents on them despite suspicions of them entering the country as tourists.
“The suspects are believed to have run the prostitution activities beginning from 5pm to 3am.”
“They are believed to have provided sexual services to two or three clients at a time, with foreigners being their targets,” Sulizmie said.
He then informed that all the suspects were brought to IPD Dang Wangi for further action and the case will be investigated under Section 372B of the Penal Code and Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63.
Victims of violence
Sex work is often deemed as the “oldest profession”, while some call it the “oldest oppression”.
Malaysian Welfare and Health Organization (PKKUM) president Elisha Kor Krishnan once highlighted the challenges of sex workers in a Malay Mail report dated 12 March, 2021, saying the community is highly vulnerable to sexual violence at work.
Krishnan said migrant, undocumented, transgender, and male sex workers experience an even greater risk of sexual violence and assault due to limited legal options to take action against such incidents.
“There are limited options to report the violence, and sex workers are reluctant to go to the police because of the potential arrest.”
“Sex workers are often ineligible to receive reduced compounds or bail amount from the court,” she said.
A 2018 report by the Health Ministry estimated 45,000 sex workers in Malaysia, 21,000 of which are femal sex workers and 24,000 transgender sex workers.
Developing reliable and accurate figures on the number of sex workers in Malaysia still remains a challenging task for the country.
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