Mar 18, 2008, 3:51 GMT
Hong Kong - A 24-year-old man was arrested early Tuesday in the hunt for a serial strangler suspected of having killed four prostitutes in Hong Kong in the space of three days.
The Pakistani national was arrested as he arrived back in Hong Kong by ferry early Tuesday from the neighboring gambling resort of Macau, a police spokesman said.
He was taken into custody after the joint operation with police in Macau and was being questioned Tuesday about the killing spree that has spread fear through Hong Kong's vice trade.
A manhunt was launched across the city after the bodies of four prostitutes were found between Saturday and Monday in the flats where they entertained their clients.
The first victim, a 35-year-old prostitute, was found Saturday strangled with a shower hose in the bathroom of her home in the city's Yuen Long district near its border with mainland China.
On Sunday morning, a 30-year-old prostitute died in hospital after being found unconscious in her flat in nearby Tai Po. A third victim, 35, was found in her flat Monday morning, also in Tai Po.
The fourth victim, a 27-year-old prostitute, was found dead in the city's North Point district hours later on Monday afternoon. She is believed to have been dead for some time.
In each case, the prostitutes were apparently strangled and their flats ransacked for money. A strongly built South Asian man was identified as a suspect Monday.
The killings caused widespread fear among the city's prostitutes, many of whom come to Hong Kong from neighboring mainland China.
The Hong Kong killings are strikingly similar to the 2006 British case of the 'Suffolk Strangler' when the bodies of five prostitutes were found in the space of 10 days.
Forklift driver Steve Wright, 49, was found guilty of the murders and jailed for life last month.
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