Police in Hong Kong were Sunday investigating
whether a serial killer is behind the murders of three prostitutes in three
weeks, dpa reported.
The latest victim was a 38-year-old Thai prostitute was found
murdered in the flat where she worked in the city's Kowloon district on
Saturday night.
The killing followed the murders of two other prostitutes who
were found suffocated in apartments in other areas of the city on January 10 and
11.
All three appeared to have been robbed and murdered by a
someone posing as a client and police said they were investigating if the same
killer is behind all three cases.
Five of the 36 murders in Hong Kong last year involved the
killing of prostitutes, a trend that has led welfare groups to call on the
government to give sex workers greater protection against attack.
Current anti-prostitution laws in the former British colony
mean women can be prosecuted if they work as prostitutes in an apartment
together, but not if they work alone.
Four prostitutes were murdered in the apartments where they
worked the space of three days in March. A Pakistani suspect was arrested and
charged with three of the killings.