Police in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, are facing criticism for a botched raid on an alleged “gay spa” that led to more than 200 arrests but ultimately produced no criminal charges.
On November 28, local police carried out a joint raid with City Hall and the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Department (JAWI) at a men-only spa in the city center, suspecting it of promoting homosexuality, a criminal offense in the majority-Muslim country that carries penalties of up to 20 years in prison and mandatory caning under both federal colonial-era law and state Sharia statutes.
The spa had been under surveillance for several weeks before the raid. According to the South China Morning Post, the venue never explicitly promoted itself as a “gay” sauna, but authorities believed it operated in a way that encouraged patrons to engage in criminalized same-sex activity.
The male-only spa typically charged a 10 ringgit ($2.40) registration fee and 35 ringgit ($8.47) per visit, and aggressively promoted itself on social media.
Police ultimately arrested 201 men, ages 19 to 60, including 15 foreign nationals. Investigators claimed to have found condoms and other items they said indicated the men were engaging in illicit same-sex activity.
Videos of the raid went viral online, with police footage failing to blur the faces of patrons — many dressed only in white towels. A list circulating on social media also purported to identify several detainees and their workplaces. It remains unclear who leaked the videos or the list.
The Kuala Lumpur raid occurred just 24 hours before a similar operation at a sauna in Penang, where police detained 13 men suspected of engaging in same-sex relations.
Both sauna cases were initially pursued under Section 377B of the Malaysian Penal Code, a colonial-era law that criminalizes “carnal intercourse against the order of nature” and “outrages on decency” — effectively outlawing all anal and oral sex. Critics say the statute is often used to target LGBTQ gatherings even when no sexual activity is taking place.
Police also sought to investigate the men under Section 372, which criminalizes the exploitation of people for prostitution, including selling, hiring, or restraining a person to force or coerce them into sex work.
However, all detainees in the Kuala Lumpur raid — including public officials, prosecutors, teachers, and doctors — were released within 48 hours after a magistrate ruled on November 30 that police had failed to show anyone had been exploited or coerced into “prostitution, or abnormal sexual activity.”
While none of the men will face criminal charges, 103 Muslim detainees are still being investigated for sodomy under Sharia-based penal provisions and could still face punishments comparable to those imposed under civil law.
It also remains unclear what social consequences await the men who were outed or reported to have been detained in the raid. Malaysia’s Education Ministry, for example, has removed teachers who were arrested from their classrooms while investigations continue, signaling they may eventually be dismissed.
Human rights and LGBTQ advocacy groups criticized police for violating detainees’ privacy by allowing media to film the arrests and enabling the men to be publicly identified — creating a presumption of guilt despite no charges being filed.
“The leak and viral spread of this sensitive data is a serious breach of privacy and dignity,” the human rights group Legal Dignity said in a statement, warning that identifying the men “puts detainees and their families at risk of discrimination, extortion, job or housing loss, and long-term stigma.”
In a series of Instagram Story posts, queer activist Numan Afifi praised the gay community for mobilizing on behalf of the detainees, with lawyers offering legal aid, volunteers supplying food, and community organizers providing information and support.
Afifi joked that Kuala Lumpur’s “first Pride march” took place in front of the police station as community members rallied against the arrests. He also praised the detainees for showing an unprecedented level of solidarity, noting that no one admitted to wrongdoing or informed on others, a factor that contributed to the decision not to pursue civil charges.
The latest raids fit a broader pattern of Malaysian authorities cracking down on LGBTQ gatherings. In June, police in Kelantan raided what they described as a “gay sex party,” though LGBTQ advocates said it was an HIV outreach event offering medical information, condoms, and voluntary testing for marginalized communities. More than 20 people were detained, but only three were ultimately charged with possessing gay pornographic material on their phones.
In 2023, Malaysian authorities raided several Swatch stores and seized 164 rainbow-colored watches from the brand’s Pride Collection, alleging the items were promoting homosexuality.
In 2022, religious authorities arrested participants at an LGBTQ-themed Halloween gathering for cross-dressing or allegedly “encouraging vice.” And in 2018, two women in Terengganu were publicly caned after being found guilty of attempting to engage in same-sex relations.
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