Taipei - A Taiwan man's hopes of making money from the 37th Baseball World Cup has been dashed after the brothel he opened for baseball players and fans was shut by police before the games began, a newspaper reported Tuesday. Anticipating an influx of foreign players and fans, Hung Jui-hung, 29, a factory worker, rented five floors in a building in Taichung in central Taiwan and spent 4 million Taiwan dollars (120,000 US dollars) to decorate 18 rooms and hire prostitutes, the United Daily News said.
Hung hired young women who can speak English to work at his Rome Men's Beauty Parlor, charging 22,800 Taiwan dollars per service.
It had been in operation for one week when police raided it Sunday, arresting six prostitutes and one customer and shutting it down.
Hung told police he had made a bad business decision because the brothel closed even before the World Cup began.
Cuba is the favourite among the 16 teams vying for the World Cup title. Play was scheduled to begin Tuesday in Taipei, but the opening game was delayed by rain.
Most of the matches are to be played at the International Stadium in Taichung, and the final is scheduled for November 18.
More than 5,000 Japanese and South Korean fans were expected to fly to Taichung to cheer for their national teams.