A legal notice on the door of a shuttered massage parlor in North Alabama. Two massage parlors have been shut down this month in Baldwin County following prostitution-related arrests and business license revocation rulings before the city councils in Foley and Daphne. The arrests occurred on Sept. The Foley City Council voted unanimously on Oct. The owner of both businesses was year-old Sheng Yun Zhou, who faces two counts of felony promoting prostitution.
Also arrested were year-old Xiu Xiang Zhang, 52; Ying Shenyang, 50; on charges of misdemeanor prostitution for engaging in alleged illegal sex acts at Ocean Massage. In Daphne, therapist Wei Tong was arrested for prostitution. Court records show that Zhou, who was arrested in her vehicle outside Tranquility Massage in Daphne. Kraft was arrested as part of an illicit massage parlor sting in Florida earlier this year. He compared the massage parlor businesses to hair salons where employees are compensated with tips.
A majority of the council believed that Zhou, as the business owner, was responsible for the illegal actions of her employees. The only council member voting against the license revocation was Council President Pat Rudicell, who could not be reached for comment.
Other council members pushed for immediate action against the business. They are responsible for their agents and employees. The incidences in Foley and Daphne come as high-profile raids of sex spas are taking place across the country, including in Alabama. Publicity about the cases have been heightened in the past year following raids in Florida that led to the arrest of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft , who police have said was caught on video paying for sex acts, and John Havens, the former president and CEO of Citigroup.
In April, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall issued a temporary restraining order against a chain of four North Alabama massage parlors, and pushed to seize property and money.
