Hotel opens, minus vice
By Li Xinran |
June 29, 2010, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
A TOP-TIER hotel in the southwest Chinese city of Chongqing, closed on June 20 for involvement in prostitution and gang activities, can reopen today, local police said yesterday.
The Hilton Chongqing can resume business but the Diamond Dynasty Club in its basement is still suspended from operation and remains under police investigation for its sheltering of prostitution, drug-taking and gang activities, said Gao Xiaodong, deputy chief of the city's Public Security Bureau.
Nearly 60 people, including the hotel's major shareholder Peng Zhiming, were detained after a police raid on June 19.
Police ordered the hotel shut down the next day - a first in China.
Peng, also the club boss, and others used the Hilton to shelter prostitutes, police said.
Even hotel porters and security guards were getting a slice of the illegal profits, according to Chongqing's Public Security Bureau.
The hotel's General Manager Jean-Philippe Jacopin said yesterday the hotel's management will ensure prostitutes are no longer allowed to enter the hotel.
Peng, an adviser to the local government and a deputy to the local People's Congress, was described in local media as always keeping a low profile.
He almost survived Chongqing's highly publicized crackdowns on local gangs, which started in July 2008.
His real estate firm invested 800 million yuan (US$118 million) in 2002 to build the hotel as "one of the best in Asia," according to Hilton's Asia-Pacific president Koos Klein.
Police said they suspected Peng of offering bribes to officials and said his businesses were linked to guns and drugs.
Peng was connected to entertainment circles and once invited Hong Kong actress Carina Lau to represent a high-end apartment that his firm developed, a source familiar with the situation disclosed.
Lau was rewarded with a river-view condo for her endorsement, the source said.
Lau denied any involvement in Peng's alleged prostitution business after media reports revealed that some female celebrities frequented the hotel's night club in its early days.
Peng reportedly treated Chongqing officials and his business pals to rounds of golf at a course he ran and to accommodations at the Hilton hotel and his night club.
The Hilton Chongqing can resume business but the Diamond Dynasty Club in its basement is still suspended from operation and remains under police investigation for its sheltering of prostitution, drug-taking and gang activities, said Gao Xiaodong, deputy chief of the city's Public Security Bureau.
Nearly 60 people, including the hotel's major shareholder Peng Zhiming, were detained after a police raid on June 19.
Police ordered the hotel shut down the next day - a first in China.
Peng, also the club boss, and others used the Hilton to shelter prostitutes, police said.
Even hotel porters and security guards were getting a slice of the illegal profits, according to Chongqing's Public Security Bureau.
The hotel's General Manager Jean-Philippe Jacopin said yesterday the hotel's management will ensure prostitutes are no longer allowed to enter the hotel.
Peng, an adviser to the local government and a deputy to the local People's Congress, was described in local media as always keeping a low profile.
He almost survived Chongqing's highly publicized crackdowns on local gangs, which started in July 2008.
His real estate firm invested 800 million yuan (US$118 million) in 2002 to build the hotel as "one of the best in Asia," according to Hilton's Asia-Pacific president Koos Klein.
Police said they suspected Peng of offering bribes to officials and said his businesses were linked to guns and drugs.
Peng was connected to entertainment circles and once invited Hong Kong actress Carina Lau to represent a high-end apartment that his firm developed, a source familiar with the situation disclosed.
Lau was rewarded with a river-view condo for her endorsement, the source said.
Lau denied any involvement in Peng's alleged prostitution business after media reports revealed that some female celebrities frequented the hotel's night club in its early days.
Peng reportedly treated Chongqing officials and his business pals to rounds of golf at a course he ran and to accommodations at the Hilton hotel and his night club.
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