Vice detectives clamp down on massage parlor

Marisa O’Neil

Police arrested two Los Angeles County women this week on suspicion

of prostitution at a local massage parlor.

Officers received an anonymous tip that New Oriental Mass. was

operating without a license in a medical building at the corner of

Harbor Boulevard and Fair Drive, said Costa Mesa Police Sgt. Marty

Carver. Vice detectives started an investigation and sent an

undercover officer into the business.

“He got solicited and made the arrest,” Carver said, adding that

the solicitation was for sex, not massage.

Alhambra resident Yanling Sun, 39, and Hacienda Heights resident

Chunyan Li, 31, were both arrested Monday for prostitution and booked

into the Costa Mesa Police Department’s jail. They were released with

a written notice to appear in court, Carver said.

Police did not know how long the alleged prostitution had been

going on.

The parlor had placed ads in local newspapers, but did not have a

massage license, as required in the city, he said. Officers shut down

the business.

On Friday, the suite in which the parlor had operated was dark. No

sign was on the door, and blinds on the window were drawn.

The building houses medical businesses such as a chiropractor,

dentist and acupressure office. Customers and workers in College

Pharmacy, a few doors down from the closed parlor, said they had not

heard anything about the prostitution arrests.

Costa Mesa has had a licensing program for massage parlors since

2001. Operators and workers must register with the police department,

undergo a background check and take a written test to obtain a

license, Carver said.

Right now there are about 30 licensed businesses in the city, he

said.

“Our vice officers are going out and actively working these places

and checking their permits to keep them from getting out of control,”

he said.

Before Costa Mesa and Newport Beach started the licensing program,

authorities in both cities had problems with prostitution at such

businesses, Carver said.

In March of 2001, the City Council passed the ordinance requiring

licensing. The ordinance also requires that businesses use only white

light and doors that cannot be locked.

* MARISA O’NEIL covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (949) 574-4268 or by e-mail at marisa.oneil@latimes.com.