Friday 29 Mar 2024
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HONG KONG (Jan 13): A senior hotel executive working for SJM Holdings Ltd was among six people arrested in Macau during a police sting on a prostitution ring, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Alan Reginald John Ho was among those arrested and he heads up Lisboa Hotels Complex, a SJM unit which manages the casino operator’s Hotel Lisboa, said the people, who asked not to be named because they aren’t authorized to speak to the media. Alan is the nephew of SJM founder Stanley Ho, according to the South China Morning Post, which reported the arrests earlier today.

Police arrested the six and found a name list of 2,400 suspected sex workers and an estimated 400 million patacas (US$50 million) in illicit gains, according to a Jan 10 statement posted on the Macau Judiciary Police website. The sex ring operated at a Macau hotel for more than a year, and involved a senior executive as well as managers of the hotel’s lobby and security department, according to the statement.

The police declined to name the hotel and would only confirm one of those arrested was surnamed Ho. Alan Ho oversees Hotel Lisboa’s operations, and the hotel isn’t able to comment on the police case, its public relations department said in a statement. SJM declined to comment on the arrests nor Alan Ho’s relationship with Stanley Ho.

Alan Ho didn’t respond to queries sent to his work e-mail address.

Biggest Bust

The Macau arrests come less than a month after Chinese president Xi Jinping’s visit to mark the 15th anniversary of the former Portuguese enclave’s return to Chinese rule. Xi’s anti-corruption campaign in China since he took power has plummeted Macau’s casinos, as Chinese authorities swept down on illicit funds channeled through the city.

The busted ring is the biggest forced prostitution case in Macau since its handover to China, the Macau Daily News reported yesterday, citing Judiciary Police spokesman Choi Iat Peng. The police also captured 96 suspected prostitutes from China and Vietnam, according to the police statement.

A photo released by the police on its website showed six persons with heads covered by black hoods, standing behind a table on which was stacked wads of cash and a few laptops and mobile phones.

Alan Ho became a member of SJM’s senior management in 2002 “responsible for overseeing purchasing, renovation and maintenance,” according to a company statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange in 2008. He no longer holds an official role within the listed company, said the people familiar with the matter.

The younger Ho, who according to SJM’s statement graduated from Harvard Law School and practiced law from 1989 to 1991 in Los Angeles, had been decorated by the Macau government in 2011 with a tourism Medal of Merit for “outstanding achievements, contributions and distinguished services” to the city.

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