Unused massage parlor permits to be revoked

JAKARTA (JP): The city tourism agency vows to soon revoke its 72 permits for massage parlors unless the holders are able to prove that they are really intent on running their businesses, an official said on Wednesday.

Suparlan, head of the agency's subdivision for business supervision, said that the revocation would be carried out shortly after the agency completes its ongoing evaluation of the latest status of the permits.

He said that his office had learned that some of the permits have been illegally traded by the permit holders.

"As they have to wait for prospective buyers able to meet their desired prices, the holders have to keep on extending the permits every year," Suparlan told The Jakarta Post.

Some of the holders of the 72 permits, he said, already had their own parlors but were unable to run them properly due to the lack of customers.

The on-the-spot inspection conducted by his staff since last December had found that at least five permits have been sold by holders to other parties.

"This is a very lucrative business. Each permit costs millions of rupiah," Suparlan said, giving no precise figures.

He quoted the permit holders as saying that the buyers obtained the massage parlor licenses in such an illegal way because "they're lazy dealing with the bureaucracy."

Suparlan insisted that such an accusation was baseless. He added that the fees required through legal procedures would only between Rp 25,000 and Rp 75,000 per permit, which is much lower than the value of the illegal transactions.

He speculated that the growing number of illegal sales of such permits might further fuel prostitution practices in massage parlors in the capital.

His agency has so far recorded that out of 236 parlors operating here, only 137 -- or about 40 percent -- are running their businesses appropriately.

Most of them were located in South Jakarta, Suparlan said.

"It's funny, but why do only the massage parlors in South Jakarta behave very well?" said, adding that the "naughty operators" mostly are found in West and Central Jakarta.

In the past month, his office have closed down the operation of seven massage parlors for violating the terms of permits.

Two others were asked to remove their businesses to other places as required by local residents, he said.

All of the nine offending parlors were in West and Central Jakarta, he added.

Separately, city councilor Sylviana Murni questioned the agency's decision to issue permits to people without trying to check the location allocated for the parlor as required by the applicants.

"The agency should answer this question," the councilor of Commission A for administrative affairs said. (ylt)