Millionaire accused of asking ex-secretary to run prostiution ring

BUSINESSMAN Howard Yeung Ping-leung asked his personal secretary to run a prostitution ring serving politicians, a court in San Francisco heard last week.

Grace George also alleged the millionaire former companion of pop star Sally Yeh also wanted her son to become a male escort.

Ms George was giving evidence in a case before San Francisco Superior Court in which she is claiming unspecified damages from Mr Yeung for sexual harassment and wrongful dismissal.

Testifying in the third week of the hearing, Ms George said one of Mr Yeung's companies, Los Angeles-based AHI Ltd, provided female and male prostitutes for American politicians. She named Los Angeles city supervisor Robert Gay and former Hayward mayor Frank Giuliani as two of those politicians. Hayward is a suburb of San Francisco.

She said Mr Yeung tried to 'strong-arm her into going to work as a madam' in a California-based prostitution ring. She added her former bosses wanted to set up her son Anthony, 23, as a prostitute and escort in the same operation.

Ms George also related an incident in which she was called to Mr Yeung's San Francisco condominium. When she got to his home, he ordered her to sit down on a chair. He then started to undress, took off his shirt, before putting his crotch in her face. Ms George said she rebuffed him and left.

Ms George said another employee, Roy Chan, an attorney, called Mr Yeung 'the godfather'.