Action on massage parlors urged

A deputy chairman of the City Council, Ismunandar, has urged the city administration to close down massage parlors covertly operating as brothels.

Ismunandar said late last week the parlors would tarnish Jakarta's image.

Some massage parlors in North and Central Jakarta, for example, have reportedly hired prostitutes who charge between Rp 200,000 (US$92.5) and Rp 300,000 for a quick visit.

In a related development Fauzi Bowo, the chief of the City Tourism Office, said that he would recheck the validity of a recent police report that states some massage parlors in Tanah Abang district, Central Jakarta and Bandengan district, North Jakarta, have been operating as brothels.

Fauzi said that extra care is needed in handling such reports because, if poorly done, they will affect the image of the city's tourism industry.

"We will study it case by case," he said.(03)