Hong Kong police have arrested a man on suspicion of having underage sex and conning teen girls out of more than HK$30,000 (US$3,830) in a compensated dating scam.
The force said on Monday the 36-year-old unemployed local man told the girls they could earn between HK$30,000 and HK$100,000.
He told them he would collect the money from clients and transfer it to the girls, according to police.
But he instead posed as a “customer” and had sex with one 15-year-old victim at a Yuen Long hotel and at Tin Shui Wai hotels three times earlier this month, according to the force.
When the “middleman” then claimed online he had failed to collect money from the “client”, he pressured the girl to transfer HK$13,000 into his account under various excuses, the force said.
She later realised she had been deceived and reported the case to police.
Officers arrested the suspect in Yuen Long on Saturday.
Investigations showed he had used the same method between October and November to exploit at least three other girls aged 16 to 17, obtaining sex and defrauding them of at least HK$20,000.
The man was being held for questioning and will be provisionally charged with “procuring unlawful sexual act by false pretence”, “unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under 16”, and “obtaining property by deception”.
He is due to appear at Tuen Mun Court this week. -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
