A LINGAM massage parlor owner, two of her employees and a male customer were arrested in a raid by a joint team of Cebu City Government officials and the police Monday night.
But the owner of Authentic Lingam Massage Venture in Barangay Mabolo, Cebu City questioned the raid, saying her spa is not a prostitution den.
“Lingam is decent,” said Honey Lou Mirafuen-tes Yoo, the owner of Authentic Lingam Massage.
Arrested with Yoo were masseuses Alma Casicas and Fel Angie Ocampo and customer Nathaniel Ebarito.
The operation was done by a joint team from the Cebu City Anti-Indecency Board (Caib), Cebu City Police Office, led by Women and Children Protection Desk Chief Chyrel Boniao, the Investigation and Detective Management Branch and the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP).
The team went to Yoo’s spa at 11:30 p.m. and allegedly caught the masseuses allegedly “performing an indecent show, immoral play and pornography” with the customer.
The team arrested them for violating Presidential Decree (PD) 969, specifically the provision banning the exhibition of a naked body.
Yoo was arrested for allegedly “maintaining or hiring persons to engage in prostitution and pornography and/or adopting or facilitating the adoption of persons for the purpose of prostitution and pornography” and for violating Republic Act (RA) 9208 or the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003.
A complaint for violation of RA 9208 was filed against Yoo yesterday. A P200,000 bail was recommended for her temporary liberty.
Casicas, Ocampo and Ebarito were charged for violating PD 969.
The Cebu City Prosecutor’s Office recommended a P24,000 bail for each.
But Yoo said she has a business permit and her attendants are not prostitutes.
“Dili kaayo fair ang pag-arrest (The arrest was unfair),” Yoo told Sun.Star Cebu.
“We don’t offer sex, (customers) were there for relaxation,” she added.
She appealed to authorities to regulate lingam massage.
Apart from Yoo’s business, the joint team also inspected AM-PM Thai Lingam Massage, Stress Free Massage Spa and Chuva Chuva Lingam Massage.
The Caib, headed by Dr. Lucille Mercado, checked the establishments’ compliance with local ordinances on decency.
At AM-PM Lingam Massage, which is in Banawa, the team interviewed seven masseuses, who said the massage parlor has not yet been operating and they were still undergoing training.
Cams
Covering their faces, the therapists admitted the establishment offers lingam massage service, which they called “prostate massage,” but said their primary services are Shiatsu and Swedish massages.
They denied engaging in prostitution, saying authorities may set up surveillance cameras inside the massage parlor.
“We are still going to evaluate our findings from this establishment. Because it appears they don’t have a business permit and heath cards of therapists. We don’t even know yet the name of the owner of this establishment. We’re going to follow the due process of law,” said Atty. Aida Sanchez of Caib.
The receptionist at Stress Free Massage Spa was able to present most of the necessary documents during the inspection except the birth certificates of the masseuses, saying the documents were inside the manager’s office, which was locked at that time.
Mercado said birth certificates and health cards of the masseuses should always be placed at the reception desk so the inspectors could check them right away.
Representatives from the City Health Department and the BFP were also present during the inspection to check the establishments’ compliance with sanitary and fire safety standards. (KAL/RSB/With GMD)