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Clifford Lo

Hong Kong authorities have rounded up 43 women in two separate operations against illegal sex workers and unlawful employment.
Police said on Tuesday the suspects, aged 22 to 55, included 41 visitors from mainland China, adding they were apprehended the previous day in Tsim Sha Tsui, Yau Ma Tei and Tsuen Wan over various offences such as breaching their conditions of stay, taking up employment illegally, overstaying their travel documents, and using identity cards that did not belong to them.
Acting on intelligence, officers from the Tsuen Wan special duties squad raided multiple locations on Chuen Lung Street, Chung On Street, Ho Pui Street, Sha Tsui Road, Chung On Street and Shiu Wo Street, and arrested 20 suspected mainland sex workers on Monday.
On the same day, police carried out a joint operation against illegal sex workers and unlawful employment with the Immigration Department in Yau Ma Tei and Tsim Sha Tsui.
During the operation, 21 mainland visitors and two non-Chinese women were arrested.
As of Tuesday morning, all the women were being held for questioning. Police said relevant departments would follow up on the cases.
In Hong Kong, employing illegal workers is punishable by up to 10 years in jail and a HK$500,000 (US$64,132) fine, according to the force.
The force also warned that violating conditions of stay in Hong Kong carries a maximum penalty of two years in prison and a HK$50,000 fine.
Earlier this month, officers from the Kowloon East regional crime unit arrested 39 people in a crackdown on a cross-border syndicate that raked in HK$30 million in less than a year by smuggling sex workers across the border to work in hotels, including a five-star establishment in Tsim Sha Tsui.


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Hong Kong authorities arrest 43 women in crackdown on illegal sex workers

Suspects, aged 22 to 55, include 41 visitors from mainland China, police say