Three suspected pimps and 16 suspected johns were arrested early this morning at a Makati City karaoke bar that was allegedly a front for prostitution.
Police Col. Rogelio Simon told ABS-CBN News that they had received reports that bar, located in a hotel in the village of Poblacion, was a prostitution den, an allegation denied by the 13 women found by police there. However, the cops allegedly found condoms inside the rooms.
Taiwanese owner Shih Fang Chen and two of his employees were arrested. Shih denied that he was running a prostitution den, GMA News reports.
The authorities also arrested 16 Chinese men, whom they believe were the women’s customers, according to The Philippine Daily Inquirer.
Under Philippine law pimping, recruiting, trafficking, and procuring prostitutes are all illegal, as is prostitution itself. But while the law allows for fines for prostitutes of up to PHP2,000 (about US$39), arrests of individual sex workers are rare.
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