Beijing, Jan 11 (IANS) A prostitute racket has been busted in China’s Nanning city, where all the sex workers turned out to be males who underwent a sex-change operation or were homosexuals, police said.

A total of 14 prostitutes were caught by police, China Daily reported.

All the sex workers were, however, released after interrogation, said a deputy director of the Nanning police bureau.

Police officers in plain clothes, in three groups, launched a rounding up operation on a busy road where the prostitutes operated.

Despite wearing heavy make-up and wigs, their Adam’s apples and low voices revealed their sex.

“I just like to dress like a woman on the street and meet male strangers, who flirt with me and call me a ‘mistress’. What’s wrong with it?” said one male prostitute.

Another told police he has always wanted to be a girl since he was a child. He became a prostitute after having breast enhancement and a nose job dine a year ago.

He said he earned 100 yuan ($16) for each deal, and none of his customers knew he was a man.

Tang Hongxin, a criminal law expert from Beijing, said that if the males were caught prostituting, they should be punished the same way as women prostitutes, according to the law.

“Since these prostitutes are men, they should be arrested for swindling and disturbing social order if they are caught prostituting,” said a resident of Nanning.

However, some people reacted differently.

“Since the male prostitutes can keep doing business, there must be a demand for this service, and there is nothing we can do about it,” another resident said.