Macau's sex trade dealt a losing hand
A raid on an alleged major prostitution ring is the first thrust by Macau's new security chief to clean up the gambling mecca, although the accused ringleaders are still awaiting formal prosecution behind bars
On December 19 last year, President Xi Jinping arrived in Macau to lead celebrations marking the 15 years that had passed since China resumed sovereignty over the city after almost five centuries of Portuguese colonial rule.
But this was to be no ordinary anniversary party.
The next day, in a speech still reverberating in the city - which in 10 short years had transformed from a casino backwater into the world's biggest gaming destination - the president's message to Macau's leaders and their gaming paymasters was as stark as it was simple: Put your house in order for your own sake and that of the nation.
The president's words sank in among a fresh team of top government officials who had been newly installed by Xi that day, among them a new secretary for security, former Judiciary Police director Wong Sio-chak.
While delivering that clear warning on gaming, Xi may well have pronounced the demise of prostitution activities that are a big side business of the local casino industry.
A little more than three weeks later, on January 10, a suspected prostitution syndicate was dismantled. The ring had allegedly been controlling 100 rooms in Hotel Lisboa since 2013, making a profit of 400 million patacas a year, according to Macau police.
Officers detained 96 suspected prostitutes and arrested six others, including the hotel's executive director Alan Ho, nephew of gambling kingpin Stanley Ho Hung-sun.