Richmond spa caught with pants down Third massage parlour suspended in less than 10

"We've been caught with our pants down."
So said the lawyer representing yet another massage parlour in Richmond to have fallen foul of the authorities.
Wallace Wong, on behalf of Blue Sea Health Spa owner De Qun Yang, made his frank admission to city council after police officers discovered naked customers in compromising positions with partially clothed employees.
The massage parlour, or body-rub studio as it's officially classified, on No. 3 Road and Capstan Way is the third such premises in less than 10 months to be hauled in front of council for repeatedly flouting city bylaws governing how they operate.
During a random inspection last fall, RCMP officers caught a pant-less masseuse with a naked customer in a darkened room at the Blue Sea.
And a couple of months later in winter, a similar inspection found a masseuse wearing clothes, but this time with no underwear, on the floor on top of a naked customer.
Each time, the masseuse and the customer claimed not to speak English, but managed to claim that no "boom boom" was taking place, according the officers' reports.
As a result, Blue Sea Spa -- which has 11 bylaw infractions to its name since it had its license pulled for 30 days in 2004 -- was before council once more, with another month-long suspension recommended by city staff.
But when it became clear that councillors were of a mind to hammer the business with a longer suspension or even pull its license permanently, Wong did his best to defend the massage parlour.
"It does have a number of violations, but the bulk of these are smoking violations," he said. "I believe 30 days is the proper penalty and I don't believe it would be fair to revisit the matter later and impose a higher penalty. And I have to say that sexual activity is not part of these charges."
Explaining the numerous smoking violations, Wong, who sat in front of council with owner Yang, said most of Blue Sea's customers were new immigrants from Asia who were perhaps not aware of the smoking laws in Canada.
In a letter to the city earlier this year, Wong said that his client was not fully aware that his business license could be suspended if he continued to rack up violation after violation.
"I think this owner knows exactly what's going on and feels paying the tickets (for violations) is the price of doing business," said Coun. Evelina Halsey Brandt.
"Twelve violations since his last suspension is abhorrent. I think a minimum of six months suspension is appropriate as we need to send a message that Richmond doesn't tolerate this."
Coun. Harold Steves wanted more assurances from the owner that the employees and customers would keep their clothes on in the future.
While Coun. Ken Johnston said the city needed to send out a stronger message to such body-rub operations.
"I think we're all wearing blinders that untoward activity is going on in massage parlours," he said.
"There's a pattern here that this owner doesn't give a damn."
According to one of the officers' reports, a Const. Leung, on finding a naked customer on the floor on a towel with a partially-clothed masseuse astride him in his mid-section area, asked 'what's going on in here?'

Having difficulty communicating with the Mandarin-speaking woman, the officer asked how much the customer paid for "boom boom," to which she replied 'no boom boom,' before gesturing that only a massage was taking place.
Despite the discovery of naked customers and semi-naked employees and the inference that sex was taking place, the officers inspecting Blue Sea could not confirm that intercourse was happening.
As such, no charges of "operating a bawdy house" were laid.
City council referred the matter back to staff for reconsideration of the degree of suspension.
In April this year, the city shut down Atlantis Relaxation, at 140 - 8080 Leslie Road, for offering clients what police allege was more than a rub-down.
It was the parlour's fourth bylaw infraction in less than two years.
And last September, Temptations Studios, also on No. 3 Road near Cambie Road, was suspended for a month after a police raid discovered naked employees with naked customers in compromising positions.
In a back room they found a naked female employee of the studio with a customer, who was only wearing a condom.
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