S'pore couple partially undressed at JB massage spa, but man allegedly opened door to private room

A woman, 40, has taken to social media to warn others about travelling to Johor Bahru for massages.

This was after she said a man allegedly opened the door of her private room at a spa while she and her husband were lying partially undressed inside.

She shared her account in a Facebook post on Aug. 31, along with a photo of a police car outside the spa in Taman Sri Tebrau.

She wrote that her group of four had booked two-hour sessions.

She and her husband, also aged 40, were given a private single room, while the other two, her sister and a niece, shared a VIP room.

"Our private room door was opened too"

About 35 minutes into the massage, she said a man in a white short-sleeved shirt went upstairs and was shouting that he was looking for a driver.

She wrote: "However, from what we personally witnessed, he did not call out any vehicle registration number or identify the specific person he was looking for. Instead, he went along the private massage rooms and opened doors to look inside."

She said their door was among those opened while she and her husband were lying face-down and partially undressed.

She added: "The man stood outside and could see into the room until the massage therapist chased him away."

A few minutes later, she said another man knocked on the VIP room occupied by her sister and the niece, saying he wanted to take a pillow.

At that point, one of them stopped the massage, got dressed and went out to raise the matter with the operator.

"This is not a small matter to us"

The woman explained on Facebook:

"How can an unauthorised male person be allowed to open the door of a private massage room while customers are undressed inside? How was he supposed to identify the 'driver' he claimed to be looking for simply by opening individual massage-room doors?"

Her husband told 8world separately: "At the time, I thought, it's one thing if I'm a man, but I immediately thought, my wife, my wife's sister, and my niece are all women. Could it be that he also saw their upper bodies?"

His wife also said she was concerned about what could have happened to a customer who was alone.

She wrote: "A private massage room should mean private.”

Management offered compensation

The woman said the manager allegedly acknowledged that the establishment was at fault and offered compensation.

The group turned it down, she claimed.

She wrote: "We rejected the compensation because, for us, this was no longer about money. We wanted the matter properly reported and investigated."

According to 8world, the second incident involved a man who apparently kept wanting to enter the VIP room to retrieve a pillow.

The woman's sister in the VIP room was the one who got dressed and went to confront the man in the second incident.

8world also reported that a refund was given as the massages were not completed.

It was also reported that the first man suspected of opening the door was a parking attendant at the massage parlour, and the second man was a massage therapist.

A night at the police station

The woman wrote on Facebook that the group then contacted the Malaysia police, and two officers attended to them, took their passport details and told them to make a report at Balai Pelangi.

At around 11pm, while they were still making the report, someone from the spa turned up at the station to help identify the man.

She said her group disagreed with the identification, as they did not believe it was the same person who had opened their door.

8world reported that they felt that the accents of the men sounded different.

The woman also wrote on social media that they refused to sign the initial statement prepared in Malay.

Having translated and checked it, they found that some parts did not accurately reflect their account.

They asked for it to be corrected and eventually wrote their own account in English.

They were then referred to Larkin District Police Station, where she said they waited from about 1:33am until 4:30am before being told to await further contact from Balai Pelangi.

Concerns over CCTV coverage

She added that the group reviewed CCTV footage and found what appeared to be a blind spot.

She wrote:

"The footage does not clearly capture who actually enters the individual massage room. This is extremely concerning to us. If customers are placed inside private rooms and CCTV cannot establish who enters those rooms, then establishments need to have proper access-control procedures to protect customers."

A similar review three months ago

A one-star Google review left about three months ago described a similar incident at the same spa.

A reviewer wrote that a male customer opened the door of the private couple room he was in with his wife, about halfway through a two-hour massage.

He apologised and left after realising he was in the wrong room.

He said management checked the CCTV and told him the man had been looking for the toilet.

He wrote: "Good to know that in this establishment, customers are free to roam around opening doors while other customers may be changing clothes or receiving massage treatments inside."

He said the manager described it as a mistake.

There was no discussion of privacy or reassurance about security measures.

He added: "Couples and female customers who value privacy may want to take note before booking here."

What she wants others to know

The woman said she was not posting her experience for compensation, but to alert other Singaporeans travelling to JB for massages.

Her advice included checking whether the room door can actually be locked from inside, and not assuming that a VIP or private room means nobody can go in.

She said: "When we lie face-down on a massage bed, partially undressed, we are placing enormous trust in the establishment."

Spa manager's response

In response to queries from 8world, the massage parlour manager said a customer was in a hurry to leave at the time, but their vehicle was blocked by another customer's car.

So, staff went upstairs to find the owner to move it.

The manager added that the man involved in the first incident did not open the door directly, but knocked first and waited for a response before opening it.

He also emphasised that the man did not enter the room.

Regarding the second incident, the manager said a masseuse had left some items in the room and knocked on the door, hoping another masseuse would pass the items out.

The manager claimed that the masseuse only knocked twice and did not open the door.

He added: "The customer opened the door and then rushed out yelling at me."

The manager added that the massage parlour has handed over surveillance footage and other materials to the police.

He said he believes that it's inappropriate to judge an incident based only on partial evidence.

He also said the police are currently investigating the matter.