Underaged teen stands in for GRO mum
GRO's being taken away by police.- Filepic
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SERDANG: A 15-year old girl who was standing in for her mother for the first time as a guest relations officer (GRO) was detained by police at Serdang Raya here Friday evening.
Scantily clad and dolled up, her job description involved singing and dancing provocatively on a stage at a food court there while patrons, mostly men, look on.
This was her first night on the job, and she was a last minute stand-in as her mother was ill, though she was there in person to watch over her child.
Police raided the place and arrested the food court owner along with 15 women, including the teenager.
Her 53-year-old mother could only watch as officers handcuffed her daughter before taking her away.
The girl’s granduncle, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the mother worked as an entertainer at the food court.
She, along with other women, would sing and dance there, while customers are charged RM10 each when they want to give their favourite entertainer a flower necklace.
“Her mother is divorced and is suffering from depression.
“She has to spend over RM400 a month just on her medical bills, and she raised her daughter on her own. So, she has to do this work.
“Her daughter left school last year to look after her mother.
“Today is her daughter’s first day. Her mother came down with flu and couldn’t sing, and had asked her daughter to replace her just for today.
“Of all days for something like this to happen, it has to be this day,” lamented the man, who is in his 70s.
Serdang OCPD Supt Razak Elias said the women were brought to the Seri Kembangan police station for questioning and urine tests to detect drug use.
The teenager and six other women, who are Malaysians, were later released.
“We are holding another six women who are Chinese nationals and a Thai woman, who were found to have either overstayed, abused their student or visitor’s pass, or possess expired passports,” he said, while declining to confirm if the women arrested were suspected to be GROs.
Supt Razak said police had received many complaints of noise during the live performances at the food court, and were investigating the owners of the premises for operating and hiring workers without proper permits.
THE STAR
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