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A vice-workers' union has highlighted 76 claims of extortion and harassment

A trade union for sex workers in Hong Kong says it received 76 complaints from March to October from its members who reported being harassed by policemen, some of whom forced them to provide free sex  and even extorted money.

The union, Zi Teng, said it would not bring the cases before the authorities because nothing came of similar complaints made last year.

A police spokeswoman said yesterday any  reported misconduct by officers would be investigated. She urged the sex workers to report their cases.

Elaine Lam Yi-ling, the union's spokeswoman, said 18 of the complainants said undercover police officers had sex with them before revealing their identity and refusing to pay.

Three said policemen demanded free services from them and  four said policemen strip-searched them under dubious circumstances.

One complainant said she was beaten up by an officer.

The rest either said they were forced out of their brothels or that policemen had intimidated their  clients.

Saying that sex workers being abused by police was a common phenomenon, Ms Lam called for an  investigation.

'Sex workers are also human beings and deserve every respect and protection,' she said.

'Even undercover police officers have to pay.'

The  union organised eight sex workers to relate their grievances.

One sex worker, who preferred not to be named, said she was forced to pay $200 to a police officer after  having sex with him. Another prostitute said a police officer harassed her every morning unless she provided free services.

The union and the Polytechnic University conducted a survey on the background of prostitutes working in one-woman brothels.

The survey, which interviewed 617 prostitutes, found nearly 60 per cent of them were Chinese women born in Hong Kong. Fifty-two per cent of them were over 30 years old, and 30 per cent were over 40.

Eighty-one per cent were self-employed, with an average net income of about $4,500 a month.

The survey also found 43 per cent of the sex workers had monthly medical check-ups. Nearly all insisted on using condoms. Forty per cent had clients who requested sex without using condoms and of these, 88 per cent said they refused.

Ms Lam condemned some politicians, who she said were cynically using prostitutes as easy targets to boost their profiles in the lead-up to the November 23 district council elections.

'In the past two months, prostitution has suddenly become a serious social issue and police are facing huge pressure to conduct raids. It happens every time there is an election,' she said.



Prostitutes tell of police demands for free sex