Mocha Girls arrested in Malaysia for performing without permit

Members of the all-girl pop group Mocha Girls were arrested in Malaysia on Friday last week for performing without the necessary permit, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Friday.

"They were held in the immigration but the latest report of the embassy in Kuala Lumpur yesterday [said] the [Malaysian] immigration has decided not to file charges but to fine them," said DFA spokesperson Charles Jose.

He said the embassy did not say how much the fine was.

In an official statement posted on their Facebook account, the group said they were on their second song last Friday when Malaysian immigration authorities raided the hotel where they were perfoming and asked for their passports and permit.

"As our producer failed to produce the work permit that his contractual commitment with us mandated him, we were taken into custody and detained in the Malaysian Immigration prison for 5 days," the group said.

They added that they were "treated as ordinary criminals" until the Malaysian immigration authorities learned that they were legitimate artists from the Philippines.

"We were not detained for sexy performances as some would speculate," the group stressed in their statement.

They added that their lawyers are already mulling taking legal action against the producer of the gig for alleged breach in contractual agreement to arrange for the issuance of the permit.

The group said their performance in Malaysia was the last stop of their Asian tour before returning to the Philippines. Before that, they performed in Thailand. —KBK, GMA News