Hostesses providing paid services wait to be questioned by police in the hall of a night club in Beijing's Chaoyang district on May 11, 2010. [Photo/Beijing Times]

Police in Beijing's Chaoyang district on Tuesday discovered 557 hostesses providing paid services, which is against the law, in four luxury night clubs, and suspended the clubs' business for six months, the Beijing Times reported Thursday.

Police said the four night clubs – Tianshang Renjian, Mingmen Yeyan, Huadu and Kaifu International – not only had hostesses providing paid services, but also had fire prevention lapses.

The newspaper cited a police officer as saying six months of business suspension are the "severest penalty for providing paid hostesses services."

In a bid to crack down on prostitution, Chaoyang police have checked more than 400 singing halls, foot and body massage centers and hair salons without licenses since April 11.