‘Case is gone’: KL police release 171 men from Chow Kit spa raid, say can’t charge as none claimed to be a victim

‘Case is gone’: KL police release 171 men from Chow Kit spa raid, say can’t charge as none claimed to be a victim



People are detained during a raid at a health centre used as a location for homosexual activity in Chow Kit on November 28, 2025. — Bernama pic

Sunday, 30 Nov 2025 4:14 PM MYT


KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 30 — What started as a high-profile raid on a spa and health centre in Chow Kit here for suspected deviant sexual activities ended with 171 Malaysian men walking free on bail, apparently because no one admitted they were a victim.

City police chief Datuk Fadil Marsus said Malaysian men were let go after the Magistrate’s Court rejected its remand applications, local media reported today.

He said police investigating the case under Sections 377 (unnatural intercourse) and 372 (prostitution exploitation) of the Penal Code could not proceed because “not a single one of them admitted to being a victim of exploitation…so the case is gone”.

“All those arrested were investigated under Sections 377/372 of the Penal Code, but there was no evidence to help the police pursue the case in that direction,” he was quoted as saying by Berita Ahad, the Sunday edition of Berita Harian.


He added that it is quite difficult to charge them under current laws.

“Because every time there is exploitation, prostitution, or abnormal sexual activity, there must be a victim, but none of them admitted to being a victim. ‘So, the case is gone,’” Fadil was quoted as saying by the Malay newspaper.

Of the 171 released, 103 were Malays, with the remainder from other communities.


Authorities said the raid had been intended to investigate alleged sexual misconduct, but the lack of willing complainants left the case dead in the water.

Fadil said that the suspected organisers of the spa activities face no charges, and only the foreign nationals among the 208 people initially detained were remanded for two days.

He also flagged that police are exploring Shariah enforcement and counselling measures, warning that “unless we amend or change the law, it’s gone. This will happen worse and worse, and our actions will have no results”.

Datuk Mohd Na’im Mokhtar, the minister in charge of Islamic Religious Affairs, said the acts in the spa are “a very serious moral offence…not only from the legal perspective but also from the religious perspective, it is unacceptable”, Bernama reported today.

He added that Shariah laws could be applied to this case as attempts to commit sodomy.

The raid captured public attention following reports that 17 civil officers were among those nabbed, with The Star listing them as a deputy public prosecutor, an administrative and diplomatic officer, a teacher and several enforcement officers.

According to various local media reports, the two-storey spa and health centre on Jalan Raja Laut had been operating for at least eight months, opening from 5pm to 11pm on weekdays and from 3pm to 11pm on weekends.

During the raid, police seized condoms, lubricants and other equipment suspected to be used for immoral purposes.

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Just a frigging religion-based police raid. I'm against such wasteful use of police resources