By Kristine Snodgrass, Staff Writer
PRINCETON — Township police are continuing their investigation into an alleged prostitution ring that was uncovered in the raid of a massage parlor on Route 206 last week.
Three women face prostitution charges as a result of the search Wednesday afternoon of the Sunny Garden Spa, located near the intersection with Cherry Valley Road.
The search was conducted as a result of an investigation in which two undercover officers were solicited during trips to the establishment, according to the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office.
Township Police Chief Mark Emann said in his time with the department, he’s never seen anything like it.
”I’ve got 30 years on, and I can’t recall any kind of occurrence like this before,” he said.
Township Mayor Bernie Miller said it was shocking the alleged prostitution was going on in Princeton.
”It’s an unusual thing to happen in a suburban community, particularly a suburban community that’s removed from a metropolitan area,” he said.
Detectives are trying to figure out how long the alleged prostitution ring was in operation as well as if it went any further, Chief Emann said.
”We’re still investigating the entire case to see if it was isolated or if it branches out somewhere else in town or on the outskirts,” Chief Emann said.
A confidential informant tipped off the township police that acts of prostitution were being performed during massage sessions at the spa, he said. The department called in the prosecutor’s Special Investigations Unit about three weeks ago, according to the prosecutor’s office.
After the search, the women were taken from the business in handcuffs and transported to police headquarters.
Two of the women, Kuei Hsiang Chang, 39, of Newark, and Chuehdan Namgyal, 35, of Jackson Heights, N.Y., were charged with prostitution and released.
The owner of the spa, Yang Chen Paima, 40, of Jackson Heights, N.Y., was charged with promoting prostitution. Ms. Paima was transported to the Mercer County Correction Center in lieu of $5,000 bail.
Officers seized approximately $3,520 in cash from the business.
Chief Emann said such an operation would not be easily hidden from township police. The commercial districts in the township are in isolated pockets, he said, making them easier for police to monitor.
”It’s not that it’s hard to find, it’s just that it’s very rare in a town like Princeton,” he said. “It just doesn’t happen that often.”
Citizens also take an active interest in what’s going on in their neighborhood, he said.
”I’d have to say it’s the spirit of the entrepreneur,” he said. “They look for a business opportunity, and they fill that niche.”
The Princeton Township Web site lists no ordinance specifically governing massage establishments in the township. Several central New Jersey communities have adopted such ordinances in recent years in an effort to limit such establishments to those offering massage therapy by licensed therapists.

