Some local women, especially from the lower-income group, are working as part-time prostitutes to earn pocket money. For many of them, their target clients are foreign workers from Bangladesh and Myanmar.

Kelantan Syarie chief prosecutor Zaini Sulaiman said this was the latest trend among the state’s `part-time prostitutes’.

He said he had reached this conclusion based on khalwat (close proximity) cases involving local women and foreigners recorded by the state Syariah Prosecution Department.

He said he believed that local women were attracted by the foreign workers’ ‘Bollywood actor good looks’.

“Based on our records, many khalwat cases involve local women, including those who are married to local men, and foreign men,” said Zaini.

“They were caught during operations by the state religious authorities while `engaged in the act’ at a few budget hotels.

“They normally go to budget hotels in isolated areas because they believed their activity will not be detected.”

He said women found guilty of prostituting themselves could be fined not more than RM4,000 or jailed for not less than two years or both.

Source: NST