Malaysia’s state-run news agency Bernama reported on Saturday that a gay fitness centre at a shopping mall in Pulau Tikus, Penang wasraided by police on Friday night.
Seven men - a caretaker and six workers - aged between 20 and 30 were arrested. The report quoted Penang CID Chief SAC II Wan Abdullah Tunku Said as saying that police also seized three towels, massage oil, tissue boxes and a tube of lubrication jelly believed to be used during gay activities.
The Star also reported that the men would be investigated for committing acts of gross indecency under Section 377D of the Penal Code.
He added that the venue did not have a business licence and had been raided three times before in five months this year and 10 times last year.
The same weekend, the police raided two massage centres in Kuala Lumpur. The Star quoted the Malay-language tabloid Harian Metro as saying that the walls of the centres were plastered with pictures of male masseurs available to serve male clients.
According to The Star, 25 male clients were detained during the raid at the two centres which were equipped with closed-circuit television at the main entrance where clients were only admitted into the centres after giving a password.
Last Thursday, TV3’s 999 programme showed a 7-minute clip of a reporter going undercover with a concealed camera in a gay massage centre and a raid on an establishment in Cheras where the authorities stormed occupied private rooms.