DETECTIVES searching for missing schoolgirl Ng Lai-ping yesterday admitted they had given up hope of finding her alive.
Officers are now studying the files of known sex attackers in the hope of finding a link. In the meantime, all search parties have been called off.
The team spent last week liaising with the Organised Crime and Triad Bureau which recently reopened a 10-year-old investigation into the murder of Sha Tin schoolgirl Ng Hoi-lam.
The eight-year-old was reported missing on July 2, 1983, when she vanished from a playground outside Lek Yuen Estate, a few metres from her home. Her skeleton was discovered 18 months later.
Police have a suspect they believe may also be responsible for crimes stretching back more than 20 years. But police cannot charge the man due to lack of conclusive evidence.
''There are similarities between both cases,'' said Detective Chief Inspector Wong Tat-wah of the Shamshuipo District Crime Squad. ''Both were young, intelligent girls and both appear to have been lured away from busy areas.'' Lai-ping has been missing since November 2 but, apart from four vague sightings, there have been no leads.
Police say it was strongly possible she was sexually assaulted and then killed by her abductor after being lured from her shopping trip to Tsim Sha Tsui.