Club managers sign declaration of responsibility

From now on, the legal representatives, managers and owners of KTV clubs and bathing houses that are involved in prostitution will be held accountable for the illegal activity.

In serious cases, those big bosses will be held criminally responsible, police said.

The change is part of a new operator-responsibility system introduced on Friday by the municipal police to help supervise the capital's entertainment industry and other businesses.

More than 1,400 legal representatives from more than 10,000 companies, including hotels, bathing centers, clubs, KTVs and gaming centers, signed responsibility pledges on Friday before local police officers to say they will not allow such activities within their businesses.

The declarations mean they have promised not to shelter prostitutes or allow gambling or the trading of stolen goods on their premises.

"The new responsibility mechanism will make every person in charge of the businesses accountable for any illegal activity," said Jin Xiang, a captain with the security administration unit of the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau.

The principle is that those who benefit from the business should also shoulder the responsibility, Jin explained to METRO.

He said the old system often left the main offenders at large while smaller players became scapegoats.

"Criminal cases in the past months show that many business operators participate or connive in criminal activities, including gambling and the provision of sexual services," Jin said.

During the past month, 39 suspects were arrested for allegedly organizing prostitution and Beijing police closed 74 foot massage centers and hair salons.

Meanwhile, 940,000 yuan was seized, and 34 suspects who were allegedly involved in online gambling and prostitution were arrested.

Police said they will monitor businesses that reopen after the end of forced suspensions.

"They will be closely watched," Jin said. "Plainclothes officers will even conduct undercover investigations in these businesses.

"Serious punishments will be dealt out if they are found to be involved in illegal businesses again."

The responsibility pledge came at the end of the six-month suspension of the operations of four of the city's nightclubs during a prostitution crackdown.

Police suspended the operations of the four luxury establishments in April after officers determined they had been sheltering prostitutes. They were told to close for six months. The enforced closures ended on Nov 11.

Zhang Yan contributed to this story.