Revocation of license for Coeur d'Alene business linked to 'illegal sexual activity' upheld - KREM

[Bill Buley | Coeur d'Alene Press]

The city alleges it was linked to illegal sexual activity, although no charges were filed.



COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho —

The Coeur d’Alene City Council, by a 4-2 vote, upheld the revocation of a business license for a massage shop shut down in February. The city alleges it was linked to illegal sexual activity, although no charges were filed.


Bob Hamilton, owner of the property where the business operated at 1034 N. Third St. Suite A, represented owner Anqin Du, who can’t speak English well, during an hourlong appeal hearing on Monday at the Coeur d’Alene Public Library Community Room.


He said Du did nothing illegal.


“I think they made a reasonably good case against the previous owner, no case whatsoever against this owner,” he said following the council’s vote. “I don’t think that’s fair. I don’t think it’s reasonable to take a person’s livelihood without having any proof that they’ve done anything wrong.”


City Attorney Randy Adams, who presented the city’s case, said the council weighed the evidence and made the right decision.


In May 2024, the Coeur d’Alene Police Department began investigating businesses “believed to be offering prostitution services or violating city ordinances under the guise of being a massage parlor.”


A police report said a person named Wei Liu had been denied a license at 1034 N. Third St. Suite A on June 11, 2024, because Liu “was guilty of acts in violation of 5.28,” which covers massage facilities, “and has been found to not have good moral character.”


Twenty days after Wei Liu’s license was denied, Anqin applied for and received a license for a different massage facility, Foot Massage, at the same location, police said.


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