Expat 'drugged, robbed by Wan Chai prostitute'
John Carney
Jun 19, 2011       
scmp.com

An expatriate businessman has described how he was robbed of HK$29,500 by an African prostitute in the latest incident of a reveller being drugged in Wan Chai.

The man, who lives in Kennedy Town and does not want to be named, said the money - HK$500 short of his daily limit - was withdrawn from an ATM, but he has no clear recollection of carrying out the transaction.

"There's no doubt that I was drugged and taken to an ATM where I took out the money," he said. "I didn't know what I was doing but the woman was with me. It must have been an ATM she had used before for this purpose because she thought it was safer. I've only a vague recollection of the whole thing."

Four other men have contacted the Sunday Morning Post (SEHK: 0583, announcements, news) this year to say their drinks were spiked in Wan Chai. Each had iPhones and money stolen; the last thing any of them could recall was drinking with an African prostitute in a bar before feeling unwell.

The latest victim, who works in the financial industry, said the woman knew exactly what she was doing by asking him to take out HK$29,500 as the daily cash limit is HK$30,000.

He said he had been drinking and chatting with her in the Neptune II bar and soon became disorientated. He has vague memories of being in a taxi and at the ATM with her.

He woke up in another bar and, when he tried to withdraw money later, he found he had reached his limit.

Pub landlords in Wan Chai said the number of African sex workers in the area had at least doubled to about 20 in recent months. Police said 25 prostitutes were arrested in crime sweeps in the area over the past few weeks, some of these from Africa.

In five operations this year police made 67 arrests - 57 foreign visitors and 10 Hong Kong residents. They were arrested for soliciting or breaching their condition of stay by working on a holiday visa.

African prostitutes are in the minority and these incidents are recent occurrences. Most migrant sex workers are from mainland China.

The most infamous incident of this type was when "date rape" drug Rohypnol was a factor in the January 2003 death of policeman Kari Juhani Koivuniemi, 45, a chief superintendent from Finland. He suffered a heart attack at the Island Shangri-la hotel. Police investigated the case as murder, but it was never solved.

Koivuniemi was last seen with an unidentified Asian woman, believed to be a mainland prostitute.

Tony Liu Kit-ming, chairman of the Police Inspectors' Association, said he believed the police were doing as much as they could. "The ethnic background of these sex workers does not matter. If they break the law, we will do something about it."

[ Last edited by  JackTheBat at 19-6-2011 10:09 ]

As you know, this happened to me earlier this year.

Bro's it can happen to anyone - so be careful. I am not only an experienced punter, but an experienced drinker too - and playing on turf I know well AND the staff/manager and others know me.  Yet it STILL happened.  

Physically I was sick/shaky for days - but the consequences could have been soooo much worse.

Will it stop me from partying in WanChai?  No.  Wil I ever leave a drink while I hit the toilet or dancefloor again?  NEVER!

Sorry Bro, I had too...

I provided enough detail in that post that if my SO or my SO's friends surfed on this site (some do - looking for their husbands!) They would instantly recognize the story - and therefore recognize me.  They check out a few other reports I've done.., and boom:  sudden life-changing moment.  

Had to RA it.

one can never be too careful out in the world, anything can happen it seems. spiked drinks and then wake up with atm maxout that really would make a baddd day. hope everyone is careful

I was interested to know what state of mind people are in when the ATM withdrawal is happening, just find it fascinating someone can be coherent enough to remember pin, but not quite enough to recognize what's going on. Does it happen from a suggestion being planted, like someone telling you 'weren't you just on your way to the bank to withdraw some cash', and you're so out of it, cannot remember, but figure you probably were since you're right at an ATM. Or do you just get told straight out here's an ATM, withdraw some cash?

I know sometimes when I'm asleep, in rare cases I get disturbed but don't quite fully awaken. At that point I can sometimes be in a very 'malleable' state, where I would probably accept any suggestion without too much critical thought - my default answer to most things would probably be yes/general agreement, as I'm more interested in sleeping than thinking. Have no idea if I was asked a question, what the response would be though - you'd probably get an incomprehensible response. This is the closest I can imagine to the state of mind where you've been given one of these drugs.

Your description, based on the literature about the drugs, is pretty accurate.   The thing is, I don't remember a damn thing from that nite.  It's gone!   That's what makes them so effective as a "date-rape" drug or a tool for robbery.  You get hammered - like you had 30 beers - but still conscious and able to function, and completely open to suggestion.  

But a bit too much?  Death.  

Nasty shit.

So the jist of it....you went to the bathroom and left a half empty drink behind?

I never thought about that....

But you could also get double teamed....you r making out with one girl and her friend spikes your drink....how do you prevent that?  It seems like the potential risk is therealways....

In my case, I think it happpened when I went to the dancefloor.  

Anyway, it can happen anytime.  A tag-team would easily nail anybody.  There is no fool-proof defense except shutting yourself from all public places.  (eventually I am sure the police will make that decision for me.  hehehe.)  But for now, while I remain "innocent until proven" I will take the obvious precautions.

As a further note- as my story got circulated in my circle of freinds (and my SO's) I was astonished how many other people have been roofied as well.  A lot more gals than guys, mind you (no doubt for a "date-rape" purpose).  It's happpend in LKF to a bunch of people, so WanChai is not the sole location in HK where this happening.

Order your beers in bottles.  Keep it in your hand or directly in front of you.  If you hit the dancefloor or toilet order a new one even if your drink remained half-full.  Half a bottle of warm beer aint worth the consequences.  Many people have a "no mate left behind policy", but for punters this is often not practical.  My mate may have a gal and is ready to roll, while I may not (or vice-versa).  I aint cock-blocking him so he can babysit me.  I dont expect him to either...  Risks of the game.

Safe hunting...