Finding ways to escape detection

NON-STOP: New faces would arrive within hours to replace of those deported

 JOHOR BARU:  JALAN Wong Ah Fook today is a model of rapid development, boasting numerous tourist attractions under Iskandar Malaysia.

However, the area has a colourful past as Jalan Wong Ah Fook had an unsavoury reputation as a vice hub and was dubbed the “Lai Lai Street”.

This was because foreign women, mainly from China, attracted the attention of customers by calling out “lai, lai”, meaning “come, come” in Chinese.

Despite numerous actions taken by the authorities, the flesh trade in the area continues to thrive. Raids would be conducted and the women deported, but then new faces would arrive, sometimes within 24 hours.

Jalan Wong Ah Fook, at the entry/exit point to Singapore, is now a hub with multiple traders operating from late in the evening until the wee hours of the morning. Some peddlers sold aphrodisiacs and sex toys openly.

The area is full of budget hotels, money changers, restaurants, bars, pubs, karaoke centres, massages parlours and gambling dens.

Some brothels operated under the guise of hair salons while at eateries, the women worked as waitresses.

To further evade the authorities, those in the flesh trade are carrying out their illegal businesses online.

The Johor Immigration Department, police, religious department and municipal council enforcement officers have conducted numerous operations to weed out the illegal activities.

Under Ops Sepadu, more than 386 women who had entered the country on tourist visas were detained for violating their social visit passes by working as guest relation officers.

Aged between 22 and 35, the women, mostly wearing low-cut dresses and revealing body-hugging blouses, were caught while busy entertaining their guests.

Some attempted to flee, but failed to do so as enforcement officers had secured all exit points.

Some even tried to sweet talk their way to freedom by enticing the officers with all kinds of offers, but these were not entertained.

State Immigration enforcement unit deputy chief Masri Abdul said they were responding to complaints by members of the public about the presence of foreign women in large numbers.

Those arrested included Vietnamese, China nationals, South Koreans and Indonesians.

Those soliciting for sex around Jalan Wong Ah Fook include some transgenders. Pic by Nur Aisyah Mazalan

Finding ways to escape detection