Advertising SSPo District's hotline for reporting vice activity is part of the crackdown on the trade

Vice activities in Sham Shui Po have been hit hard thanks to the relentless work of the District's officers.

Acting SSPo District Commander Iain Tse Ho-yin told the media on December 4 that recent operations had helped bring the vice situation under control to help reduce its nuisance to residents. He said the District's seven special operations since late October had resulted in the arrests of 169 women and 16 men, upping the number of arrested prostitutes so far this year to 724, compared with 602 in 1999.

"Between December 1 and 4, a joint anti-vice operation was mounted by the Special Duty Squads of Kowloon West Region and Sham Shui Po District, also the District's Crime officers and the Immigration Department," Mr Tse said. The operation saw 46 prostitutes, aged 19 to 37, arrested. Of them, 16 were charged with soliciting for immoral purposes and appeared in North Kowloon Magistracy. The remaining 29 were handed over to the Immigration Department.

Meanwhile 15 men, aged 15 and 44, suspected to have triad backgrounds, were also arrested for living on the earnings of prostitutes. Mr Tse said 23 complaints had been received since the Police anti-vice hotline was set up on November 3. He said to further publicise the hotline, huge display boards would be erected and messages broadcast by Police vehicles at locations frequented by prostitutes.

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