Lid lifted on sex industry
HANOI - Police have shut down what they describe as Hanoi's
first-ever strip joints, emphasising the rapid pace of
social change in the formerly austere and conservative
communist capital.
The raids on two low-profile premises in the city's Cau
Giay district resulted in 22 arrests, including those of
female university students from prosperous families,
reportedly earning large sums of money performing
strip-tease acts and selling sexual favours.
A report from the Anti-social Evils Department (AED)
of the Ministry of Social Affairs earlier this year
concluded that as many as half of Vietnam's commercial
sex workers entered the industry voluntarily.
"Many of the dancers were university students who
wanted to earn easy money. They were beautiful and
well educated and could not only satisfy 'masculine
needs', but also provide stimulating company and
conversation," said the An Ninh Thu Do newspaper.
According to its report, the clientele of the raided clubs
included some of Hanoi's wealthiest men, who were
charged 20,000 dong (HK$11) per hour to witness
explicit floor shows.
The paper said the clubs were packed nightly with
clients often spending the equivalent of thousands of
Hong Kong dollars on food, alcohol and sex with
dancers at nearby hotels.
An AED official conceded that the discovery of the
clubs indicated that a once almost non-existent sex
industry was flourishing despite an ongoing
anti-prostitution campaign.
The department's latest report revealed that more than
35 per cent of restaurants and hotels surveyed in 49
provinces and cities also doubled as fronts for
prostitution, and that the industry had become more
sophisticated in order to avoid detection.
The official said a decree to be introduced later this year
will increase penalties for both prostitutes and their
agents.
Offenders will be fined and have their names published
prominently in local newspapers.
By Huw Watkin - The South China Morning Post - July 27, 1999.
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