Crime PJ arrests 56 people in anti-prostitution operation

The Judiciary Police (PJ) conducted a special operation yesterday, busting an illegal sex work syndicate and arresting 56 men and women. The PJ identified connections between the syndicate and a street fight that took place in January.
According to the PJ, it became aware of reports of women disturbing pedestrians in Iao Hon District in January this year, and received tips from residents and the Neighborhood Association about alleged sex-work in the district.
The PJ later discovered that there was a procurement syndicate in the district. The syndicate was found to be run by Vietnamese and operating at a relatively large scale with a clear organizational structure and division of labor.
Investigations by the police found that the group had existed for about a year, offering rented apartments to Vietnamese women for sex work. The bosses of the group would retain MOP300 to MOP500 each day for rent, service and guardianship charges, and instructed the women to look for interested clients. Each time they would receive MOP150 to MOP200.
A total of 23 men and 33 women, were arrested, aged between 28 and 70 years. Of those who were arrested, 44 were Vietnamese, three were locals, one was a Hong Kong resident and eight were from mainland China. AL