Secret escape routes in brothels

Twelve men who ran a sophisticated prostitution ring, which included a compensation scheme for sex workers if they were convicted, were sentenced yesterday.

Their four Mongkok brothels, which turned over $650,000 a month and recruited prostitutes from overseas, included secret escape routes from police. The men were arrested in a major police anti-vice operation last year.

Wong Cheuk-man, 34, received the heaviest sentence of 44 months after Deputy District Court Judge Andrew Ma Hon-cheung found him guilty of four counts of conspiracy to manage a vice establishment and one in dealing with the proceeds from the brothels.

Eight of the men were jailed for terms ranging from six to 10 months. Two were given community service orders and one was given a suspended sentence. They faced various charges including keeping, managing and operating vice premises.

The court was told that police had used six undercover officers between August and November last year to carry out investigations into the four brothels, which procured prostitutes from the mainland, Russia and Malaysia.

The syndicate which ran the brothels had an accounting system and a compensation scheme for staff if they were convicted, the court heard.