Hong Kong court jails gang member in case linked to Phuket massage job scam
A Hong Kong court has jailed a gang member in a prostitution case involving two Thai women, including one who was referred to a massage therapist job in Phuket before being trafficked to Hong Kong.
A Hong Kong court has sentenced a 70-year-old gang member to one year in prison in a prostitution case involving two Thai women, including one who was referred to what she believed was a massage therapist job in Phuket.
According to the Bangkok Post, citing proceedings in Hong Kong's District Court, the two Thai women were trafficked from Thailand to Hong Kong in 2023 after responding to job scams. Court documents from an earlier hearing showed that one of the women, aged 41 at the time, had been referred to a massage therapist job in Phuket.
The court heard that just before checking in at the airport, she discovered that her destination was Hong Kong. She still boarded the flight and later said she only realised she had been trapped into prostitution after arriving at a flat on Temple Street in Yau Ma Tei.
The two women, both in their 40s at the time, arrived in Hong Kong on Feb 7, 2023. The court heard that Chiu Hon-leung ordered other gang members to lock them in the flat and force them into sex work.
The women alerted the Thai consulate in Hong Kong and were found by police the next day. One of them used her phone to take pictures of the street from the flat and sent them to her boyfriend in Thailand, while the Thai consulate also received her real-time location.
Judge Ernest Lin Kam-hung said the case involved trafficking two foreigners into Hong Kong for prostitution, though he noted that Chiu had never directly spoken to or met the victims.
The court also sentenced Chiu's subordinate, Ke Jinmei, to seven months in prison. The court heard that Chiu instructed Ke in a group chat to take care of the Thai women and provide them with wet wipes and mouthwash to prepare them for sex work. Ke told police that her role was to bring customers to the flat.
Two other co-defendants had earlier pleaded guilty to the same offence.
The case highlights how a job referral linked to Phuket formed part of the chain of events that led to the trafficking of a Thai woman to Hong Kong.
