Malaysia Nabs 80 Lovers in Raids ... on Hotel Rooms

Unmarried couples busted in anti-valentine hotel sweeps
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 15, 2011 4:29 AM CST
Malaysia Nabs 80 in Anti-Valentine Raids
A florist prepares roses for Valentine's Day in Kuala Lumpur. Other faiths, who make up around a third of the country's population, aren't affected by Islamic authorities' anti-Valentine crackdown.    (AP Photo/Lai Seng Sin)

Malaysia's morality police—making good on a vow to crack down on Valentine's Day canoodling—detained 40 unmarried Muslim couples in hotel rooms across the country yesterday. Authorities—who have deemed Valentine's Day un-Islamic—say the couples busted in the raids on cheap hotels during "Operation Valentine" will likely be charged with being in close proximity to somebody of the opposite sex in a private place, the AP reports. The unlucky lovers will face a fine and jail time if found guilty by an Islamic court.
(More Malaysia stories.)

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