Entrepreneur Hugo Chetcuti, who owns a string of night clubs in Paceville, said that he agrees to the full with the regulation of brothels.

His comments come after a number of criminal lawyers told The Malta Independent on Sunday that they agree with the regularisation of brothels once prostitution is here to stay from the looks of things. They said that the spread of diseases would reduce while the exploitation of women for sex would also reduce.

"We are European country in the same way Germany and Holland is so we should go ahead in the same way these countries did, and regularise brothels.

"If brothels exist in Malta they are definitely not regularized so there is ample room for abuse," he said.

He said that as a result of regularization of brothels, the number of rapes could also decline.

Besides, the economy could well flourish as a result, in the same way the economy in Holland did.

He pointed out that in this way, regularising brothels that is, a woman can prostitute herself out of her on free will and would not be forced to do so. "This in itself will help eliminate trafficking for sexual purposes," he added.