Gym/Sauna Raid in KL

[durian]

I've been in malaysia for a year, it's very boring for gay men.  I did visit one tiny little sauna in KL in Bukit Bingtang for an hour, I got one asian dick in my mouth for a quick wank in the steam room, the only dick there... 

Seeing as gay sex and gay activities are illegal here it's obvious there are no homosexuals in Malaysia.  LOL

Can't wait to get to BKK in January and throw myself in the deep end of a darkroom,  I'm fed up wanking at Xhamster.... link to article or read on, copy and pasted... 

 

KUALA LUMPUR: A 59-year-old specialist doctor was among those detained during a raid on a gym and sauna in Chow Kit that was allegedly operating as a front for homosexual activities.

He told officers he went there to "heal and avoid the after-work traffic jam", adding that he often stopped by before returning home to his wife and children.

 

"I usually come here to avoid the traffic after work. I can relax in the sauna and jacuzzi for a while.

"I don't want to comment on what I did, but yes, such activities do take place here," he said when met at the scene yesterday.

Earlier, Harian Metro reported that 201 visitors and seven employees were detained in the raid on the premises, which was allegedly used as a meeting place for men to engage in immoral acts.

 

A 19-year-old youth was also among those arrested. He admitted learning about the place from a friend and was intrigued to visit after reading online reviews.

 

At the time of his arrest, the youth was with a 46-year-old man and said it was his second visit.

"This place is quite popular. I first came here two weeks ago and spent about three hours. At first, I just wanted to try it out but ended up getting hooked," he said.

 

A foreign tourist in his 40s also admitted visiting the premises after reading positive comments on social media but claimed he was unaware the activities there were illegal.

[Olddaddy]

Omg .

I was just planning my trip there for March 2026

I'm sick of Thailand all the time 

[macaroni21]

Is there some way to move this thread to the Malaysia forum so that in future other readers planning to go there can see this story?

From a social media post by someone I know who is Malaysian, I am hearing that it is the well-known Otot otot sauna, which has been operating for years. Why now, I wonder?

[PeterRS]

1 hour ago, macaroni21 said:

From a social media post by someone I know who is Malaysian, I am hearing that it is the well-known Otot otot sauna, which has been operating for years. Why now, I wonder?

I am one of the original members of Otot Otot sauna from the time in the early to mid 1990s when I would often fly to KL for long week-ends with friends. I have never heard of its being raided before. From the Straits Times I see that 201 people were detained. Frankly I can not believe Otot Otot can accommodate such a large number unless it has been very substantially expanded since I last visited about 7 years ago. Another reason for thinking it must have been another place is that the raided venue opened from 5:00 pm until late. I always thought Otot Otot opened earlier in the afternoon.

Further, the article states that the venue had been under surveillance for two weeks following public complaints. Personally I cannot believe that Otot Otot had suddently had complaints after being in business for 30 years! In any case, the article adds it had only been open for "the past eight months". Lastly, the report states the venue had a swimming pool. There has never been one at Otot Otot to my knowledge. 

So it must have been somewhere else.

3 hours ago, durian said:

Seeing as gay sex and gay activities are illegal here it's obvious there are no homosexuals in Malaysia.  LOL

Yes, technically they are illegal as Malaysia is a Muslim country. But it has a lot of laws that are only for Muslim citizens and roughly 23% of citizens are Chinese. I have never had any issue on the apps, for example, finding Chinese gay guys. Also in Penang I have been in massage spas where the masseurs were all from mainland China and extra services were available. I have always found KL cruisy.

https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/caught-with-their-pants-down-prosecutor-surgeon-among-201-detained-at-men-only-vice-raid-in-kl

[mauRICE]

I read about it this morning and was mildly curious. According to speculation in the Malay language media it is the Otot-otot sauna. Otot-otot opens at 5 PM on weekdays and at 3 PM on weekends. It may have gone through renovations and re-opened recently. 

What foreign visitors may not be aware of or noticed, is that the sauna is situated in a row of shop-lots where several evangelical churces or prayer meeting places are located, led by virulent African pastors. Friends and activists have reported being harrassed by them previously on the way to or upon leaving the sauna. I don't know whether this still happens or whether the churches are still active.

The doctor who was caught is a surgeon. His risable excuse was that he was there to relax and get a reprieve from the traffic jam on his way home! 🤣 I bet his wife knows all about it too and turns the other cheek. Hey, he's a surgeon, isn't he? Not unusual as the most powerful man in our country right now (but not for long) is a Roy Cohn clone and his wife, an opthalmologist, has always turned the other cheek. I suppose she sees only what she wants to see. 🤷

The Muslim men who were caught, if charged, may be charged under the relevant Shari'ah provisions (as officers of the religious authority were in the raid team which itself is very interesting) but I have a feeling this was more of a shakedown or a distraction from larger events happening in the country right now. According to one of the reports, more than twenty civil servants were caught... and the KL police chief was there to oversee things? Really? That's a mighty powerful post and my guess is they're looking for certain fish to fry.

Incidentally, the laws governing homosexual practices in Malaysia fall under the Penal Code - a colonial relic from the Victorian era - not the Shari'ah. Singapore, Pakistan and India have (or used to have) similar laws. Interestingly, Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim country, do not have such laws. I guess the Dutch who ruled for two hundred years weren't as curious or as uptight as the Brits about what two consulting adults did in the privacy of the bedroom - or the bushes. 🤷

Next...🥱

 

[durian]

3 hours ago, macaroni21 said:

Is there some way to move this thread to the Malaysia forum so that in future other readers planning to go there can see this story?

From a social media post by someone I know who is Malaysian, I am hearing that it is the well-known Otot otot sauna, which has been operating for years. Why now, I wonder?

Sorry. My bad. You're quite right that I should have posted this in the Malaysia forum. Sorry about that

[vinapu]

9 hours ago, Olddaddy said:

 

I'm sick of Thailand all the time 

just stay  home then

[PeterRS]

Always difficult to believe what one picks up from the media, but the facebook comments addressed in @mauRICE's post about the raided venue having been open "for the past eight months" certainly do not fit with Otot Otot which has been open in that same location at the end of the row of shop fronts for 30 years. I wonder if those African biggot preachers have only recently appeared in KL and made life difficult for those visiting Otot Otot, if indeed it was that sauna. But I still believe it must have undergone considerable expansion as even with 100 in the space I last visited it would have been almost packed. And not only the sauna's own website but visitor reviews mention nothing about its having a swmming pool, for the simple reason it doesn't have one.

Facebook has an entry 21 hours ago from someone who says the raided sauna has been raided several times before and always reopens. I have never heard of previous raids at Otot Otot. I wonder if @mauRICE has as he is closer to the 'action' there. 

[Lotusleaf]

 It is definitely Otot and it hasn't been expanded. 

I have seen video of the actual raid - quite confronting. 

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x9uoy62

I am not aware of Otot being raided before but given it has operated for more than 20yrs it is possible.

There was a raid in Johor Bahru recently of massage parlour. 

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2025/10/16/johor-immigration-raids-massage-centres-detains-15-foreign-nationals

The raids conducted in recent times have been more about illegal immigrants and drug use.  This one is different 🙁

[Lotusleaf]

Another raid.

This time it's in Penang. 

https://www.chinapress.com.my/?p=4690775

[Travelingguy]

A message is being sent.  I did watch the video of the otot raid.  I do wonder about what they can charge without actual proof of specific actions.  It may not matter in Malaysia, but I think that a case against these guys would be hard to prove without catching someone doing something sexual in front of the police.

[mauRICE]

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2025/11/30/039men-only039-spa-raid-171-get-off-scot-free-after-court-rejects-remand-order-in-039victimless039-case

Yup, it was a shakedown, just as I suspected. The 171 Malaysians caught have been released and the rest will be released by tomorrow. The courthouse  was raining with activist lawyers, including Shari'e ones, as soon as news of the arrests came to light. The LGBTQ+ support movement in Malaysia is very organised and there are excellent protocols in place for incidents like this.  

The two Penal Code provisions for unnatural sex carry a heavy burden of proof and simply hanging out in towels or  undressed in a sauna will not satisfy them. Bar a confession, it will be difficult to secure a conviction and the first thing the lawyers instructed those caught was not to confess to anything (phone messages were being shared like wildfire!).

The evidentiary requirements for a Shari'ah conviction are even higher as you need witnesses to the act - no need to get excited, Olddaddy.

Sadly, the damage is done. I've seen a few unpixalated videos of the arrest with faces of those caught clearly showing, including the obligatory overweight, elderly farang seated in a chair in the corner. This will likely destroy a few careers and reputations. Yup, it was a shakedown.

 

[PeterRS]

3 hours ago, Lotusleaf said:

 It is definitely Otot and it hasn't been expanded. 

Thanks for the clarification. Certainly something has been done re changes to the interior since my last visit. Maybe since it was closed for two years during the early covid years they could have made some changes then. I still find it hard to believe that more than 200 people could be packed into that space, but then in the video they all seem pretty tightly packed. Some cute guys there, too!