Hong Kong - Police in Hong Kong on Wednesday were seeking a
second killer in the deaths of four prostitutes in the space of 72
hours, a day after arresting a suspect in the first three killings.
A solo serial killer was initially believed to be responsible for
the four killings between Saturday and Monday, which sparked panic
among the city's prostitutes.
However, a police spokesman said Wednesday that the fourth murder
could not have been carried out by the 24-year-old Pakistani man
arrested Tuesday in connection with the first three killings.
Inquiries revealed he was outside Hong Kong when the fourth victim
died.
The Pakistani suspect was arrested as he arrived back in Hong Kong
by ferry early Tuesday from the neighboring gambling resort of Macau,
a police spokesman said.
Two mobile phones believed to have belonged to two of the victims
were found on the suspect when he was arrested, said police, who
believe the motive for the killings might have been simple robbery.
A manhunt was launched across the city after the bodies of four
prostitutes were found 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 died on Sunday when the suspect was in Macau.
Prostitutes in the city of 6.9 million said they now believe a
copycat killer might be at large and have called for greater police
protection in case the killer strikes again.
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, described at the time as one of
the fastest serial killers of all time, was found guilty of the
murders and jailed for life last month.
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