1-12-2025 (KUALA LUMPUR) A Malaysian court rejected police requests to detain 171 local men arrested in a raid on a suspected illicit spa in Kuala Lumpur’s Chow Kit district, citing a late filing and lack of victim evidence. Police stormed the “health centre”—a men-only facility with a gym, pool, and dimly lit “dark room”—on November 28, detaining 201 patrons in total.
Entry required a small fee and a white towel, with authorities seizing condoms and lubricants amid suspicions of prostitution and unnatural sex acts under Sections 372 and 377 of the Penal Code. Among those held were professionals including civil servants, a surgeon, a teacher, and a deputy public prosecutor.
The operation, led by Kuala Lumpur police, aimed to curb what Chief Datuk Fadil Marsus called a “serious social issue,” with the facility’s organizer still at large. The magistrate’s decision stemmed from administrative delays in processing the high volume of arrests, alongside the case’s classification as “victimless.” No detainees reported exploitation, blocking charges that require victim testimony, though 31 foreigners face two-day detention under the Immigration Act for lacking proper documents. Malaysia’s Minister for Islamic Affairs endorsed the raid as addressing a “grave moral offense.”
