A 47-year-old prison guard was arrested yesterday for assisting a prostitution gang, which was busted by the Judiciary Police (PJ) on Sunday (as reported by The Macau Post Daily on the front page yesterday), to set up WeChat groups to control prostitutes, PJ spokesman Ho Chan Nam said in a special press conference yesterday.
The Judiciary Police announced on Monday that nine people, including two alleged leaders of the gang, were arrested on Sunday for creating online chat groups and discussion forums on a website to control sex workers and attract clients. During the operation, police also apprehended over two dozen sex workers who came from the mainland.
According to Ho, the male suspect surnamed Leong joined the Correctional Services Bureau (DSC) in 1999. He was intercepted by the police on Monday when he entered Macau through the Barrier Gate border checkpoint.
Ho said that the gang used chat groups and discussion forums to recruit prostitutes, post prostitution “ads” and write “positive feedback” about the sex workers’ “performance” to attract new clients.
Ho added that based on intelligence provided by the Zhuhai Public Security Bureau (PSB), the Judiciary Police identified Leong as one of the suspects who was in charge of facilitating “deals” between sex workers and clients, and was also in contact with the two alleged ringleaders via a mobile software, so the police believe that Leong was involved in managing the chat groups.
Under questioning, Leong admitted that he had created four WeChat groups, each comprising about 400 to 500 people, to facilitate contacts between the ring’s prostitutes and clients, Ho said, adding that Leong also admitted to running the chat groups for around two years and managing them as the group’s leader.
However, Leong refused to reveal details of how much money he earned from the criminal activities, and how and when he met the gang’s two leaders, according to Ho.
Ho noted that Leong was transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) yesterday, where he faces charges of organised crime and controlling prostitutes.
The Judiciary Police will continue to investigate the case, Ho said.
The hooded prison guard is escorted by the Judiciary Police (PJ) officers from the PJ headquarters in Nape to a vehicle yesterday. – Photo: Yuki Lei
