Hong Kong - A 24-year-old Pakistani man appeared in court
Wednesday charged with murdering three Hong Kong prostitutes in the
space of two days.
Nadeem Razaq appeared accused of killing the three women at the
flats where they entertained clients last Friday and Saturday in a
killing spree that terrorized the city's prostitutes.
No plea was taken from Razaq at the hearing in Hong Kong's Fanling
Court and he was remanded in custody until next Tuesday while
investigations into the killings continue.
Meanwhile, a hunt was continuing for a 'copycat killer' believed
to have taken advantage of the murdering spree to strangle to death a
fourth prostitute in another part of the city on Sunday.
A fast-working solo serial killer was initially believed to be
responsible for the four killings - all believed to be by strangling
- which were discovered between Saturday and last Monday.
However, police said the fourth murder could not have been carried
out by the 24-year-old suspect who was outside Hong Kong and being
tailed by detectives when the fourth victim died.
Razaq, a Hong Kong resident of Pakistani descent, was arrested as
he arrived back in Hong Kong by ferry early Tuesday from the
neighboring gambling resort of Macau.
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.
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 first woman is believed to have been murdered on Friday while
the second and third are believed to have been killed on Saturday.
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 died on Sunday when the suspect was in Macau.
Prostitutes in the city of 6.9 million fear a copycat killer might
be at large - something police say they cannot rule out - and have
called for greater police protection.
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