Eastday-30 nabbed in raid of 6 massage parlors near school

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POLICE said they have caught more than 30 people during a raid yesterday of six unlicensed massage parlors located across the street from a middle school.
The raid took place after angry parents complained that the businesses appeared to be offering sexual services.
Young women dressed in revealing clothing were seen posing or even banging against glass entrance doors to attract male customers at the massage parlors in suburban Minhang District on Tuesday.
The massage parlors are only about 10 meters away from the entrance to a middle school across the street on Yejiaqiao Road, and many students have to pass by the businesses on their way to and from school.
A mother surnamed Li complained that the massage parlors had been open since November, and Li believed that they were not offering only massages because she saw the young women luring male customers on the street.
"The massage parlors start their business every afternoon. It is very bad for students as they will walk past the parlors after school," said Li.
Li said she and many other parents have complained to local police but the massage parlors were still operating.
An undercover reporter with local news website eastday.com said a woman working at one of the massage parlors told him she would charge him 100 yuan to 150 yuan for different sexual services.
"One hundred yuan for service with condom, and 50 yuan more if you don't wear one," a woman told the reporter.
The massage parlors are less than 10 square meters each and are furnished with only chairs and sofas. Each has hidden rooms where the customers may have sexual services with the women on the beds, according to the website.
A woman promised the reporter the massage parlors were totally safe.
"Police have never checked here and they never will," one woman said, according to the report.
While many embarrassed middle school students were seen speeding up when walking past the stores, some peeked through the glass windows, the website said.
An official with Minhang's Pujiang Town government said they launched the raid with police after they received the complaints.
All the six massage parlors were closed for illegal and unlicensed operations while their landlords were fined for leasing the space. Four people, including two men and two women, were caught on the scene engaging in sexual activities, the official said.
Police said they would patrol the area around the clock in the coming two weeks to ensure that the massage parlors would not reopen, the official said.
According to Chinese law, entertainment venues and Internet cafes are not allowed to open around elementary or middle schools.
In May 2011, many massage parlors suspected of offering sex were reported to have opened in Pujiang Town. The parlors were closed by Minhang police after local media reported on them.