Malaysia considers ban on Chinese women

Malaysian immigration officials are considering denying entry to single young women from China, after many have turned to prostitution in the country.

Proposed new rules would allow entry only to women with local references or those traveling with tour groups, the South China Morning Post reported Thursday.

"We are swarmed by young women from China who enter as tourists but work as prostitutes," the newspaper quoted a senior police official as saying. "They are everywhere ... in nightclubs, karaoke lounges, and they even travel in vans converted into brothels to serve foreign workers at construction sites."

In 2003, 1,700 out of 5,100 women deported for prostitution were from China, but police say the figure is misleading.

There are also thousands of Chinese "noon brides," mistresses kept by Malaysian businessmen in exclusive apartments.

A local police officer estimated about 50 Chinese girls per day entered Sarawak state in east Malaysia, site of a mining and timber boom.

About 37,000 Chinese nationals entered Malaysia as students last year, mainly to study English. Officials say many have disappeared.

People in the tourism and education sectors oppose the ban, which would adversely affect their business, as do human rights groups who say it unfairly discriminates against women.

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