Hong Kong doctor, banker among suspects arrested after police raid brothel providing underage sex workers
- Police raid on underage vice establishment in Tsim Sha Tsui leads to arrest of five alleged patrons, including doctor and banker, according to insider source
- Two teenage sex workers found, two suspected brothel organisers detained by officers
A doctor at a Hong Kong public hospital, a banker and a designer were among five men arrested on suspicion of having sexual intercourse with girls aged under 16 at a brothel in Tsim Sha Tsui which was shut down by police last week, according to force insiders.
The five men, aged 31 to 57, were accused of patronising the vice establishment, which provided underaged female sex workers as young as 13, police said.
Two suspects – the designer, 31, and a security guard, 37 – were picked up in the brothel on Ichang Street when officers raided the premises on Friday night.
The three others – the doctor, 57, banker, 41, and a retiree, 55 – were rounded up in a series of raids over the weekend as the investigation suggested they had also visited the brothel, one source said.
Police detained the five men on suspicion of having sexual intercourse with girls younger than 16 – an offence which is punishable by up to five years in jail under the Crimes Ordinance.
A government source said the doctor worked at Tuen Mun Hospital and had been suspended from duty following his arrest.
Without revealing the doctor’s name or his department, the hospital said in a written reply to the Post that the employee involved had been suspended from duty.
“The hospital attaches great importance to the conduct of employees. If anyone is involved in illegal acts, we will strictly follow up in accordance with established procedures,” a spokesman said.
The five have been released on bail, pending further investigation.
The police source on Monday said officers were still looking for another 10 male customers in connection with the case.
During Friday’s raid, police also arrested two alleged brothel organisers – a 22-year-old woman and a 49-year-old man – and seized HK$45,000 (US$5,770), suspected to be profits from the illegal sex trade.
Inside the 700 sq ft flat, officers also found two girls, aged 13 and 15, on the premises, with the source saying the younger teen was a student and had previously been reported missing, while the other was a school drop-out.
Superintendent Cheng Chun-kit of the Kowloon West crime unit on Sunday said there was “no indication to suggest that the girls were forced into prostitution”, but the investigation suggested one of them was lured into such sex trade with illegal drugs.
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He said police were still searching for several girls who had been at the brothel during school holidays.
The two alleged organisers were detained on suspicion of operating a vice establishment and causing or encouraging prostitution of girls under the age of 16.
According to the force, the pair were the alleged administrators of a Telegram account and were responsible for uploading information about sex workers and helping customers to make appointments.
Police said each client was charged between HK$1,300 and HK$2,500 for sex.
“But the operators took 30 per cent of each payment from the girls involved,” Cheng said, adding that the illegal sex operation was well-organised and the brothel only served regular customers.
The brothel operated in a flat in a residential and commercial block, police said. It had a reception counter and six rooms, each equipped with a shower and a massage bed.
During the raid on Friday, police seized a large quantity of condoms, towels, bedsheets and massage oil along with an account book for record-keeping of its illegal business.
Another source said an initial investigation suggested the brothel had been in operation for several months and it had also provided adult sex workers.
Police said the investigation was continuing and further arrests were possible.
