Hong Kong police have busted a local prostitution syndicate which exploited underage girls. Two anti-vice operations were held between October 13 and 17, police said last Saturday, resulting in 58 arrests.
The force said that two girls, aged 14 and 15, were found during one of the operations targeting a local prostitution ring. The other operation targeted a bar which was said to illegally employ foreign hostesses.
Seven men and 51 women, aged 16 to 54, were arrested during the two crackdowns, police said, including 23 allegedly involved in the prostitution ring.
The prostitution syndicate allegedly recruited young girls through an online social platform and at hang-out spots for adolescents, Kowloon West Chief Inspector Yim Wan-ha said at a press briefing.
“Members of the syndicate pretend to be underage girls and make posts on social media to attract potential clients to message them, then the members arrange the interaction. Since the girls are underage, members let customers book a hotel room and then assign a girl to their room. The group take 40 per cent per transaction,” Yim said in Cantonese.
The interactions cost between HK$3,000 and HK$10,000 per session.
Hotel raid
The ring was dismantled during a police raid on a Tsim Sha Tsui hotel last Thursday, in collaboration with the Immigration Department. It saw 14 women from the Chinese mainland arrested on suspicion of breaching their conditions of stay.
The force arrested three core members, including a 18-year-old woman suspected to be the ringleader, as well as two 16-year-old girls on suspicion of “living on earnings of prostitution of others” and “causing prostitution.”
Two 29-year-old men were arrested near the hotel on suspicion of “living on earnings of prostitution of others,” whilst four clients – aged 32 to 43 – were arrested on suspicion of “unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under 16 years of age”.
The force also seized a large number of condoms, disposable blankets, bottles of mouthwash and lubricant being stored at a warehouse near the hotel.
Tsim Sha Tsui bar raid
Separately, the force raided a bar on Cameron Road, Tsim Sha Tsui last Wednesday, suspected to be employing foreign hostesses.
Kowloon West Senior Inspector Lau Siu-lung said: “[I]nvestigations found that, when the customers arrived at the bar, the staff arranged foreign ladies for them to choose. These ladies arrived in Hong Kong via travel visas, they escort and have bodily contact with the customers, receiving a HK$500 fee and tips by the hour.”
Thirty women from Thailand, aged 24 to 42, were arrested on suspicion of breach of stay. One man and three women, aged 36 to 54, believed to be the director, manager and permit holder of the bar, were also arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to employ someone who is not lawfully employable.
Additionally, a 36-year-old foreign woman with a Hong Kong Identity Card was arrested on suspicion of assisting the aforementioned Thai women to work in Hong Kong without approval.
During the operation, the police seized evidence including cash, dice and dice cups.
