AN increasing number of foreign workers are being caught committing khalwat (close proximity) in budget hotels, said Johor Islamic Religious Department assistant director Mohd Hafiz Abdul Rahman.

He said most of the workers, who were from industrial areas, treated budget hotels as vice dens.

“Compared with the Islamic prohibition on gambling, drinking alcohol and fornication, the khalwat offence is the most common among foreigners,” he said today.

He said in a two-hour operation to combat vice activities at Permas Jaya and Seri Alam budget hotels last night, 12 men and 10 women, aged between 18 and 40, were nabbed for khalwat.

He said eight of the foreigners were from Indonesia, Bangladesh and Pakistan. – Bernama, October 18, 2017.