Bond reduction requested for Austin human trafficking suspect

The National Human Trafficking Hotline is available 24/7. Call (888) 373-7888 or text “INFO” to 233733.

TDLR emergency closure notice.

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Juqing Lu, who police arrested on two human trafficking charges, faced a judge Tuesday as her attorney asked to have her bond reduced.

Her shop, RS Foot Massage on U.S. 290 in southwest Austin, received an emergency closure order last week from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR).

“I approached the judge and asked him to consider lowering Ms. Lu’s bond. It’s currently set at $100,000 on each case, which to me seems to be a little bit excessive,” Joe Wells, Lu’s attorney, said.

According to court documents, Lu is accused of holding two victims against their will and forcing them to ask clients if they wanted sexual services after massages, and subsequently pocketing most of that money herself.

“Like so many of these cases, they’re not quite what they seem,” Wells said, claiming the victims had access to their passports, phones and money.

The judge addressed Lu through an interpreter and said he needed more time to go over the evidence before making a decision about reducing her bond.

The TDLR said RS Foot Massage had been licensed with the agency since 2019 and had no previous violations or red flags.

Tela Mange, TDLR’s communications director, said while staff proactively perform impromptu inspections at their licensed locations, “we can’t be in every massage establishment 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”

That being the case, Mange said TDLR relies heavily on tips from customers, which comes with its own set of challenges.

“Folks who go somewhere and they think well this is kind of weird, something is off, it gives me the creeps so I won’t go back. So they tell their friends don’t go there, but they don’t report it,” she said. Below is a list of things she warns people to look out for and report to TDLR.