Egyptian police said they arrested on Thursday the owner of a television station that broadcasts belly dancing, on suspicion of "facilitating prostitution."

Baleegh Hamdi, owner of the Al-Tit channel, is also accused of "harming public decency," police said, adding that he was arrested in his apartment.

The prostitution charge appears to stem from messages broadcast on the channel, a police official said without elaborating.

In a clip from the station's broadcast posted on YouTube, a ticker at the bottom of the screen shows text messages from viewers who say they are looking for spouses.

Egyptian law bans prostitution and vaguely defined offences against public decency.