'Minors' and Japanese AV actress recruited by vice ring

A Japanese AV actress claiming to be 26 years old when in fact she is apparently closer to 40 was among 11 alleged vice ring members arrested.

Police and Immigration Department officers mounted an operation and netted 10 females and one man, including a pair said to be ringleaders and six female sex workers from Hong Kong, Japan and the mainland, with the youngest 15.

Also among the arrested was 37-year-old Japanese AV actress Minato Maiha, though messages on the group's Telegram channel claimed she was 26.

The 11 remained in detention last night.

Kowloon West regional crime unit superintendent Alan Chung Nga-lun said the ring has been recruiting sex workers overseas and putting minors under its control.

Chief inspector Michelle Tai Po-yee said two ringleaders, 39-year-old male merchant Chow and his 20-year-old jobless girlfriend Lau, were arrested near an hourly-rate hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui on Tuesday when they took a 15-year-old girl there to serve a client.

The pair are accused of "control over persons for the purpose of unlawful sexual intercourse or prostitution."

"We believe the 15-year-old girl has been controled by the group as a sex worker, but successfully stopped her from meeting the client," Tai said.

Officers have now applied for a care or protection order for the girl. It was understood the teenager was engaged in prostitution previously and had been reported as a missing person many times over three years.

Six sex workers, including two Japanese and four mainlanders, were arrested in a hotel on Nathan Road, a residential building on Cameron Road and elsewhere in Tsim Sha Tsui for breaching their conditions for staying in the SAR.

Officers also seized a private car believed to have been used for transporting the minor, a large amount of cash and items believed to be used for prostitution, including condoms, disposable towels and lubricants.

Police also searched a flat in an industrial building on Chai Wan Kok Street in Tsuen Wan on Tuesday, where underage sex workers were allegedly kept and arrested two key members of syndicate, aged 23 and 16.

They had allegedly been responsible for recruiting new sex workers, with a girl also identified as a missing person.

According to police, the ring advertised sex services through social media platforms including Telegram, charging clients between HK$5,000 and HK$10,000 per session. The Japanese AV actress charged HK$6,000 to HK$7,000.

The group also advertised on social media to recruit underage girls, using phrases such as "earn fast money, hourly rate from HK$2,000 to HK$2,500," while also saying accommodation was provided.

Tai called on parents to pay more attention to their children, while warning that clients face five years in prison despite claiming to be unaware sex workers are minors under 16.

"Overwhelming job advertisements claiming to 'earn quick money' were seen on different social media platforms, and these ads might sound attractive to teenagers," Tai added.

eunice.lam@singtaonewscorp.com