School student among 4 arrested by Hong Kong police on suspicion of harassing debtors
- Police round up suspects, aged between 15 and 27, in series of raids in Kwun Tong and Lantau
- Officers say young men were suspected of going to debtors’ homes to carry out harassment acts such as putting up loan collection letters and splashing red paint
A school student was among four young men arrested by Hong Kong police on suspicion of engaging in illegal debt collection practices over the past 18 months, the force revealed on Thursday.
The four suspects, aged between 15 and 27, were rounded up on Wednesday in a series of raids in Kwun Tong and Sau Mau Ping in eastern Kowloon and Tung Chung on Lantau Island.
According to the force, the four were detained in connection with criminal damage – an offence that is punishable by up to 10 years in jail under the Crimes Ordinance.
“An investigation indicated that the four men were suspected of being involved in 11 cases between November 2020 and March 2022 in which red paint was poured over flats in Kwun Tong,” police said.
“Police suspect they were lured with monetary rewards to go to the debtors’ homes and carry out harassment acts such as putting up loan-collection letters and splashing red paint.”
As of Thursday morning, the suspects were still being held for questioning and had not been charged.
Hong Kong police say youths exploited by vice, narcotics group, despite crime drop
Officers said an active investigation was under way and further arrests were possible.
Police on Wednesday released a report detailing the city’s overall crime situation, noting that offences committed by young people fell 37.5 per cent in the first quarter from a year ago.
Figures showed that the number of young people arrested for various crimes dropped to 448 between January and March this year, compared with 717 during the same period in 2021. This included 54 people in the 10-20 age range detained for criminal damage.
But the force said there were still cases where vulnerable young people had paid a high price for taking part in criminal activities.
Police highlighted cases in which four 13-year-old male students had been arrested on suspicion of trafficking illegal drugs, and 11 girls aged between 12 and 15 had been lured into prostitution. Ten of the girls were students.
Police described youth crime as a complex social issue which required different sectors of the community to collaborate in the use of education and publicity to help cultivate a law-abiding attitude among youngsters.
