MANILA, Philippines – The Makati City government shut down on Saturday, January 11, a KTV bar that allegedly doubled as a prostitution den, following the arrest of its owners and 14 customers on Friday, January 10.

City hall’s Business Permit and Licensing Office served the closure order on the establishment located at the penthouse of the Makati Palace Hotel on Burgos Street. Its owners, Taiwanese nationals Shih Fang Chen, 65, and Po Yi Chen, 55, have been accused of violating the anti-human trafficking law, and of operating a business without a mayor’s permit, said the Makati government’s public information bureau.

Before dawn on Friday, Makati police raided the bar and rescued 13 Filipina workers. They arrested the two owners and 14 customers, who were Chinese nationals working for a Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) company.

Makati Police Investigation Unit chief Major Gideon Ines Jr said the bar owners were paying the hotel P400,000 a month. The hotel owner denied involvement in the prostitution ring.

The rescued women were placed in the care of the city’s Social Welfare and Development Office. – Rappler.com