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68-year-old woman and Flipino domestic helper who operated 6 prostitution websites sentenced to jail for 3 years and 7 months respectively
7:12PM Mon October 12, 2020
12th October 2020 -(Hong Kong) A 68-year-old married woman living in a luxury apartment in Mid-Levels acted as the mastermind of a prostitution syndicate, operating 6 prostitution websites, arranging prostitutes of different nationalities to provide on-site sex services in hotels, and using two Filipino domestic helpers to do “errands”, earning more than HK$33 million over a period of 9 years. The woman and another Filipino domestic helper pleaded guilty in the District Court on 5th October to six counts of conspiracy to rely on the income of prostitution, conspiracy to launder money, and money laundering. They were sentenced today, during which the woman must be remanded in custody while the Filipino domestic helper was granted bail pending sentence.
The two defendants who pleaded guilty are the 68-year-old woman Wong and the 42-year-old Filipino woman PALPAL-LATOC Jo-an Evera. Both pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to rely on prostitution for a living and money laundering crimes, and each pleaded guilty to two money laundering crimes, laundering a total of more than HK$48 million of crime proceeds.
The defenCe stated that the first defendant, WONG, was a bar hostess and a prostitute when she was young due to financial difficulties. Her husband had known this before marriage and therefore refused to have sex with her, so she had no children. The prosecution alleged that she became a housewife after getting married in 1979 and lived with her husband in the unit at Tavistock II on the Peak. The defence claimed that Wong wanted to become a prostitute again but was too old, so she switched to managing a prostitution website, and emphasised that she did not force anyone to become a prostitute. The prostitutes came to Hong Kong voluntarily for money, and the two Filipino domestic helpers were not forced to participate in illegal activities. After paying the share for the prostitutes, Wong’s actual annual income is about HK$2.5 million, which is less than figure accused by the prosecution. The defence also stated that Wong has been suffering from depression for many years and has recently started to suffer from dementia.
It is hoped that the court can give her a lighter sentence based on her mental condition. As for the second defendant, the defence claimed that her role in the case was relatively minor. She was misled by the first defendant and believed that the services provided by the website were legal. She was worried about losing a stable domestic helper job before participating in the crime.
It is understood that the police searched the accounting records and found that Wong made a net profit of about HK$33 million between 2009 and 2018. The prostitutes provided on the website came from Asian countries such as Nepal, Thailand and the Philippines, and some were also from the West. The case alleged that the police dispatched officers to disguise as clients from April to May 2018 and called prostitutes to the hotel to provide sexual services through the prostitution website involved. The police officers paid by cash and credit card respectively. The charge was generally HK$6000 each time, credit card charges were higher, at HK$7080 per session, but the actual price can be negotiated. During the operation, the police arrested three Russian and Venezuelan prostitutes. During investigation, it was found that the prostitution network involved was registered by the first defendant, Wong or a company under her name. On 15th May, 2018, the police conducted a raid on Wong’s unit in Tavistock II in Mid-levels, and found some transaction records, account books, multiple fixed-line telephones and computers. On the same day, Wong and two Filipinos were arrested.
The trial judge described the prostitution group in the case as large and organised, and sentenced the two defendants to jail for 3 years and 7 months respectively.
Under admonishment, the second defendant Jo-an Evera revealed that she had been employed by Wong as a domestic helper in April 2009. One month after she came to Hong Kong, Wong invited her to assist her in the prostitution business. She and another Filipino defendant were responsible for answering calls from customers guests, replying to customers’ emails or Whatsapp messages, and arranging prostitutes for customers. She said that she could get another about HK$1,000 a month from the prostitution business. She also revealed that the photos of prostitutes displayed on the website were found from the internet but in fact, the prostitutes were different persons but the charges were the same even if the prostitutes were of different nationalities. Another 47-year-old Filipino domestic helper, Gallego Jeanette Villaflores in the same case pleaded guilty in September last year and was sentenced to 10 months in prison.
7:12PM Mon October 12, 2020
12th October 2020 -(Hong Kong) A 68-year-old married woman living in a luxury apartment in Mid-Levels acted as the mastermind of a prostitution syndicate, operating 6 prostitution websites, arranging prostitutes of different nationalities to provide on-site sex services in hotels, and using two Filipino domestic helpers to do “errands”, earning more than HK$33 million over a period of 9 years. The woman and another Filipino domestic helper pleaded guilty in the District Court on 5th October to six counts of conspiracy to rely on the income of prostitution, conspiracy to launder money, and money laundering. They were sentenced today, during which the woman must be remanded in custody while the Filipino domestic helper was granted bail pending sentence.
The two defendants who pleaded guilty are the 68-year-old woman Wong and the 42-year-old Filipino woman PALPAL-LATOC Jo-an Evera. Both pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to rely on prostitution for a living and money laundering crimes, and each pleaded guilty to two money laundering crimes, laundering a total of more than HK$48 million of crime proceeds.
The defenCe stated that the first defendant, WONG, was a bar hostess and a prostitute when she was young due to financial difficulties. Her husband had known this before marriage and therefore refused to have sex with her, so she had no children. The prosecution alleged that she became a housewife after getting married in 1979 and lived with her husband in the unit at Tavistock II on the Peak. The defence claimed that Wong wanted to become a prostitute again but was too old, so she switched to managing a prostitution website, and emphasised that she did not force anyone to become a prostitute. The prostitutes came to Hong Kong voluntarily for money, and the two Filipino domestic helpers were not forced to participate in illegal activities. After paying the share for the prostitutes, Wong’s actual annual income is about HK$2.5 million, which is less than figure accused by the prosecution. The defence also stated that Wong has been suffering from depression for many years and has recently started to suffer from dementia.
It is hoped that the court can give her a lighter sentence based on her mental condition. As for the second defendant, the defence claimed that her role in the case was relatively minor. She was misled by the first defendant and believed that the services provided by the website were legal. She was worried about losing a stable domestic helper job before participating in the crime.
It is understood that the police searched the accounting records and found that Wong made a net profit of about HK$33 million between 2009 and 2018. The prostitutes provided on the website came from Asian countries such as Nepal, Thailand and the Philippines, and some were also from the West. The case alleged that the police dispatched officers to disguise as clients from April to May 2018 and called prostitutes to the hotel to provide sexual services through the prostitution website involved. The police officers paid by cash and credit card respectively. The charge was generally HK$6000 each time, credit card charges were higher, at HK$7080 per session, but the actual price can be negotiated. During the operation, the police arrested three Russian and Venezuelan prostitutes. During investigation, it was found that the prostitution network involved was registered by the first defendant, Wong or a company under her name. On 15th May, 2018, the police conducted a raid on Wong’s unit in Tavistock II in Mid-levels, and found some transaction records, account books, multiple fixed-line telephones and computers. On the same day, Wong and two Filipinos were arrested.
The trial judge described the prostitution group in the case as large and organised, and sentenced the two defendants to jail for 3 years and 7 months respectively.
Under admonishment, the second defendant Jo-an Evera revealed that she had been employed by Wong as a domestic helper in April 2009. One month after she came to Hong Kong, Wong invited her to assist her in the prostitution business. She and another Filipino defendant were responsible for answering calls from customers guests, replying to customers’ emails or Whatsapp messages, and arranging prostitutes for customers. She said that she could get another about HK$1,000 a month from the prostitution business. She also revealed that the photos of prostitutes displayed on the website were found from the internet but in fact, the prostitutes were different persons but the charges were the same even if the prostitutes were of different nationalities. Another 47-year-old Filipino domestic helper, Gallego Jeanette Villaflores in the same case pleaded guilty in September last year and was sentenced to 10 months in prison.
