Macau police on Wednesday said they have charged 36 people after breaking up a prostitution ring in the latest clampdown on corruption in the Chinese gambling hub.
Forty-two mainland Chinese, including one 17-year-old male, were hauled in for questioning after police raided a hotel on Tuesday night, in the second major prostitution bust this year in the former Portuguese colony.
Macau is the world's largest gambling hub and a top destination for Chinese high-rollers, but its fortunes have been fading since President Xi Jinping launched a clampdown on corruption and excess among party officials.
"Thirty-four males and two females were charged with operating prostitution activities, and three were believed to be used as prostitutes," a Macau police spokesman told AFP.
A further three people were also brought in for questioning, he added.
The swoop is the second major prostitution bust in Macau this year after more than 100 people were arrested in January in what police said was the largest such operation since the city was handed to China in 1999.
Among those arrested was Alan Ho, a nephew of casino tycoon Stanley Ho, who was detained along with several other alleged ringleaders and 96 prostitutes in the raid.
Revenues from Macau's casinos nosedived by almost half in February, the most since record began, mainly due to Beijing's high-profile corruption crackdown.
In a visit in December, Xi drove home the message that the territory needs to diversify away from casinos.
Macau overtook Las Vegas as the world's casino capital in terms of revenue after it was opened up to foreign competition in 2002, and still enjoys gambling revenues multiple times that of the American city.
But in the wake of China's crackdown resorts are now shifting away from VIP gamblers towards mass market visitors, offering non-gaming family friendly alternatives.
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