GEORGE TOWN, MALAYSIA - Police are cracking down on foreign women who enter the country as tourists but end up working as guest relations officers (GROs) in various nightspots in Penang.

George Town OCPD Asst Comm Azam Abd Hamid said police rounded up more than 120 such women from China, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and Myanmar this month.

'We have picked up 600 women since January with more than half coming from China,' he said.

He said he had directed his men to conduct raids on karaoke lounges and other nightspots daily.

'We will also take action against those who hire these women,' he said on Monday.

ACP Azam said a few women who were deported a few months back had returned to Penang.