Lured by nightly take of up to $7,000, prostitutes set up de facto red-light district
Sex workers are turning the streets around the city's most prestigious hotel precinct into a 'de facto red-light district', with police and security powerless to stem the trade.
Thai, Russian, local and mainland prostitutes are increasingly targeting well-heeled clients of luxury hotels such as The Peninsula, Sheraton Kowloon, Kowloon Hotel and Marco Polo in Tsim Sha Tsui.
Police and hotel management confirmed the increasing vice trade on the streets outside the hotels was a growing concern and required combative measures such as uniform patrols, undercover stings and enhanced security and lighting. Most hotels also operate a midnight curfew, after which unregistered guests are refused entry.
A South China Morning Post reporter visited the Middle Road and Nathan Road district at 11pm on a weeknight and was offered sex by six women within half an hour for between $900 and $1,500. They were unwilling to drop their price and said they had to be in the hotel before the curfew.
Guests of the five-star hotels regularly filed complaints about being solicited for sex outside the hotels, a senior officer said.