Monday, November 22, 2010

http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?we_cat=11&art_id=105182&sid=30384031&con_type=1&d_str=20101122&fc=10

An alleged office-bearer or "red pole" of the notorious Sun Yee On triad - which police claim controlled vice in several Tsim Sha Tsui and Yau Ma Tei nightspots for seven years - has been charged with money laundering.

The 29-year-old brothel keeper, better known as "Sai B," or Small B, will appear in Kowloon City Magistrates' Court today with another man and a woman, who also face the same charge.

They were among 19 syndicate members rounded up on Saturday in a crackdown on triad activities.

The 16 others, picked up for keeping vice establishments and dealing with proceeds of crime, were released on bail after overnight interrogations.

They will have to report back to police next month and in January.

"Sai B," surnamed Chan and dubbed "the guru of brothels," allegedly controlled at least five nightclubs in Yau Tsim Mong and led the syndicate in laundering HK$380 million between 2002 and 2009, using more than 80 bank accounts.

Assets worth about HK$20 million, including four luxury cars, property in a posh Ho Man Tin neighborhood, and HK$1 million in cash and jewelry were frozen or seized.

Investigators also believe they have smashed a prostitution ring.

Officers had a glimpse of Chan's lavish lifestyle during a raid on his Ho Man Tin apartment, where belongings seized included a five-carat diamond ring and a number of luxury watches.

Also seized were records of prostitutes and computers with criminal transaction records stored.

The police operation was launched after two years of investigation, during which the young triad leader rose to the senior rank of "red pole" from a little known fighter in the group, a source said.

Police were concerned his growing clout would make him hard to contain.

In 2007, Chan was arrested for illegal assembly after gathering more than 100 fellow triad members in Tsim Sha Tsui.