Hong Kong authorities have arrested 43 women in two separate operations targeting illegal sex workers and illegal employment.
Police said on Tuesday that the suspects, aged between 22 and 55, included 41 visitors from mainland China. They were arrested the previous day in Tsim Sha Tsui, Yau Ma Tei and Tsuen Wan for various offences, including violating residency conditions, taking up illegal employment, exceeding the validity of their travel documents and using ID cards that did not belong to them.
Acting on intelligence, officers from the Tsuen Wan Special Forces raided several locations in Chuen Lung Street, Chung On Street, Ho Pui Street, Sha Tsui Road, Chung On Street and Shiu Wo Street on Monday and arrested 20 suspected mainland sex workers.
On the same day, police and immigration authorities conducted a joint operation against illegal sex workers and illegal employment in Yau Ma Tei and Tsim Sha Tsui.
During the operation, 21 mainland visitors and two non-Chinese women were arrested.
All women were detained for questioning until Tuesday morning. Police said the relevant departments would continue to investigate the cases.
In Hong Kong, employing illegal workers can be punished with up to 10 years in prison and a fine of HK$500,000 (US$64,132), police said.
The police also point out that violations of the residency conditions carry a maximum penalty of two years in prison and a fine of HK$50,000.
Earlier this month, officers from the Kowloon East Regional Crime Unit arrested 39 people in a crackdown on a cross-border syndicate that had raked in HK$30 million (about €35 million) in less than a year by bringing sex workers across the border to work in hotels, including a five-star hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui.
