San Rafael sting
An ongoing crackdown on prostitution at San Rafael massage parlors resulted in three more citations Wednesday, police said.
The sting occurred at the Fountain Spa at 817B Fourth St., where police sent an undercover officer posing as a john, said San Rafael police Sgt. Dan Fink. The masseuse offered the detective intercourse for $100, Fink said.
The masseuse, 31-year-old Chan Zou of Monterey Park (Los Angeles County), was cited on suspicion of solicitation for prostitution. Police also cited two other women at the business: Ling Xi, 35, of San Francisco, on suspicion of aiding and abetting prostitution; and Yiwei Chen, 26, of New York, on suspicion of loitering for the purpose of prostitution.
Investigators also seized condoms and related evidence from the spa. The women were released after being cited.
Fink said the Fountain Spa was advertising its services openly on the Web sites www.craigslist.com and www.myredbook.com. The latter site lists physical descriptions of the spa's "providers" and blunt reviews from previous customers.
"It's kind of blatant," Fink said. "It's pretty obvious."
The second-story massage parlor - which is up a red-carpeted staircase above an Italian restaurant and a defunct sushi bar - remained open for business Wednesday night. An employee there said no manager was available for comment. The sting was the latest in a set of operations by the San Rafael Police Department's "Directed Patrol Unit," which investigates drug sales, gang activity and other street crimes. The unit was assigned to investigate massage parlors several months ago after numerous complaints from residents.
Last month, detectives cited two masseuses - a 37-year-old woman at Blue Sky Sauna at 2144 Fourth St., and a 53-year-old woman at New Day Health Center at 4140 Redwood Highway - on suspicion of misdemeanor solicitation for prostitution.
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