Police bust illegal massage parlour

Updated at 3.29pm: Police on Tuesday broke up a family-run massage parlour offering sex services, Chinese language newspapers reported on Wednesday, while legal massage workers have called for better regulation of the industry.

Police arrested a 60-year-old man and his 45-year-old wife on suspicion of using a North Point flat as an illegal massage parlour, the Oriental Daily News reported. A 37-year-old mainland woman using a tourist visa was also detained on suspicion of providing sex services in the flat, the paper reported.

The couple started renting the apartment in the Metropole Building a few months ago. They had installed massage equipment and hired mainland women on short-term visas to serve customers, it said.

Meanwhile, the Apple Daily reported on Wednesday that a representative of massage workers had met government officials to discuss the competition created by illegal massage businesses. The female massage worker reportedly urged Security Bureau officials to relax the restrictions on legal massage services so as to provide more job opportunities for Hong Kong women.

But government officials replied that the restrictions, such as licensing, were necessary to curb prostitution, the paper said.