Police are scrambling to overcome a gap in the law that stops them prosecuting people who use internet forums and smartphone apps to solicit compensated dates.
Compensated dating is a form of prostitution in which the buyer and the seller first go on a date before having sex in return for money or gifts.
There is no specific law against seeking these dates online, so police have tried to prosecute people by using Section 147 of the Crimes Ordinance, which states that it is a crime to solicit for an immoral purpose in a 'public place'.
However, the law does not expressly state whether a 'public place' also covers internet forums and smartphone apps - the new front line of the sex trade, making arrest and convictions for compensated dating difficult.
Superintendent Brian Lowcock of the Kowloon West regional crime unit said that once arrested, young women on the dates normally denied they provided sexual services. 'They only say they met a friend on the internet, but were sexually attacked when they hung out,' he said.
Police have requested legal advice from the Department of Justice on their powers to tackle those seeking potential dates in the cyberworld.