Police arrest 22 people, including four teenagers hired for up to HK$1,000 per job, on suspicion of illegal lending and intimidation
A loan shark syndicate in Hong Kong recruited young people through chat groups to vandalise debtors’ homes with red paint and paid them up to HK$1,000 (US$127) per job, police have said as they arrested 22 people, including key members of the gang and four teenagers.
In an operation conducted between June 16 and Wednesday, police arrested 19 men and three women, aged between 16 and 62, in connection with 29 cases related to illegal debt collection. The cases involved the loan sharks recruiting debt collectors, often youngsters, through agents that used encrypted chat groups.
“It is similar to the operation of a food delivery platform. They will place orders of splashing red paint in the group and indicate the districts involved … Interested group members can then take the order,” Tsang Chun-kit, acting deputy district commander of Tseung Kwan O district, said on Thursday.
Tsang said the agents required individuals to take photos to prove they had completed their job, before paying them HK$500 to HK$1,000 per order.
