Published: 8:48pm, 25 Mar 2025Updated: 8:53pm, 25 Mar 2025
More than 60 per cent of Hong Kong secondary school students have faced sexual advances from adults online, a police survey has found, with the force warning that teenagers who start using social media at a young age run a higher risk of being approached.
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Police polled 2,000 students from Form One to Form Four between February and November last year. Out of 1,950 valid responses, 63.5 per cent of students said they had been sent sexual content or requests for sex online.
Commissioner of Police Raymond Siu Chak-yee revealed on Tuesday that the force had recorded 10 cases of online grooming of minors in January and February, including two that resulted in rape, while the youngest victim was 12 years old.
“These crimes are not limited to the digital world, some online grooming activities will extend offline. Criminals will ask to meet youngsters in person, where they will assault them sexually,” Siu warned.
He was speaking at the launch of a series of comic books, published by the force, warning about online grooming.
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Last year, the force recorded 1,359 cases of sex crimes against children. Among them, 94, or 7 per cent, involved elements of online activity.
The force’s survey involved a partnership with 10 secondary schools in the southern New Territories and West Kowloon, with students volunteering to participate anonymously.