Media in South China's Guangdong Province revealed on Wednesday that giving men masturbation in exchange for money in Guangdong is not considered an act of prostitution, and those who provide these services will not face prosecution.
The Nandu Daily reported that police in Nanhai, Guangdong Province, recently cracked down on a couple of "hair salons" which, aside from hair styling, also offered sexual services such as masturbation and "breast massage," in which a woman massages a client using her breasts. After detaining the salon owners and the female workers, police found themselves in an awkward situation as a court in Guangdong Province ruled last year that masturbation or "breast massage," acts that do not involve actual intercourse, are not considered to be prostitution.
The change of policy came in , when the Intermediate People's Court in Foshan overruled the verdict of an inferior court and cleared a group of salon workers who had been charged with prostitution for offering masturbation services. The eye-catching case took place in , when the police investigation showed that several female massage workers were hired to offer services, including masturbation and breast massage, at the salon.
The three salon managers detained were first convicted of organizing prostitution and sentenced to up to five years' imprisonment. But the defendants' lawyer filed an appeal, claiming that their business did not constitute a crime. The retrial at the Intermediate People's Court in Foshan supported the appeal and the charges were later withdrawn, with an explanation that the crime of prostitution should consist of for-profit sex acts, with masturbation or breast massage excluded.
We may find it uncomfortable ethically, but there is no proof in the law to declare them guilty," Luo said. He added that he does not think the effect of the Guangdong court ruling will spread to other regions.
