ST. CHARLES – An employee of Shangri La Spa & Sauna, 2015 Dean St., #7A, St. Charles, was charged with misdemeanor prostitution, police reports released under the Freedom of Information Act show.
Hongbo Cui, of the 43W300 block of Lakewood Drive, Sugar Grove Township, was charged on Jan. 11, police and court records show. She was released on her own recognizance and is to appear in court Feb. 9, court records show.
The police report stated that Cui’s massage therapist license was active and had no record of discipline.
St. Charles Deputy Police Chief David Kintz said an undercover officer from the North Central Narcotics Task Force went to the establishment as part of the department’s ongoing compliance checks.
“We base it on complaints and just to make sure establishments are following the rules,” Kintz said. “It was not narcotics-related. They did the undercover [investigation] at our request.”
The police report also details two violations of Shangri La’s business license which will result in a citation, Kintz said. The city cannot cite the business until it receives the report from the state police, he said.
The license requires that a massage establishment have the premises supervised at all times by a manager, and that no employee shall place his or her hands on any part of a patron’s sexual or genital area, the report states.
Owner and manager of Shangri La, Lifa Jiang, said she is one of three managers on staff, but none of them were on duty when the incident with Cui occurred.
According to the police report, Jiang told police she was not at the business because her son had a table tennis tournament.
Jiang is the only manager listed on the company’s license with the city, the report stated.
“They have to have a manager on duty and it has to be a manager who is listed on the license,” Kintz said.
Jiang said she fired Cui after the arrest.
“I am sorry I did not have the right people working for me,” Jiang said. “I just want to work a good business in the city. Everybody [is] happy with our massages. They get good massages. I’m so happy, so proud of my company [to] make everybody happy. I am so sorry this happened to my company.”
Once the city sends a citation to Jiang, the owner will face a hearing before the St. Charles Liquor Control Commission, which also oversees tobacco and massage licenses, Kintz said.
Shangri La opened in June 2016, the same month the city strengthened its massage establishment regulations. The additional regulations were put in place after the city had revoked four massage licenses.