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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