Hong Kong police bust vice ring exploiting minors, arrest 18-year-old mastermind

Hong Kong police have dismantled a local vice syndicate allegedly led by an 18-year-old woman, which exploited underage girls for sex services, arresting 58 people in two crackdowns.

Chief Inspector Yim Wan-ha of Kowloon West said on Saturday that the force recently apprehended 23 people in a crackdown on the local syndicate suspected of recruiting teenage girls for prostitution through online social platforms and youth hang-out spots with the lure of quick money.

“Core members befriend underage girls and use the promise of promotion to core members as an excuse to ask them to find more underage girls or take on additional clients,” Yim said.

“Since the girls are underage, core members ask clients to book hotel rooms and arrange for the girls to provide sex services there.”

She added that the members pretended to be underage girls to contact clients on Heymandi, a dating app, and Telegram, a messaging platform.

Yim also noted that the syndicate collected 40 to 50 per cent of the transaction payment as commission fees.