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AFRO's Statement on the Court Verdicts in the Cases of Murdered Sex Workers (2009.07.28)

Regarding the court verdicts in two cases of 4 murdered sex workers delivered on the 27th and 28th of July – both murders were sentenced to life imprisonment, we would like to express our views and concerns as follows: 

1) Reasonable Verdicts: We consider the court verdicts reasonable and sincerely hope that they will console the victims’ families. 

2) Immediately Resume Discussion about Decriminalisation of Sex Work: Due to existing laws, sex workers are forced to work in isolation. The Legislative Council should immediately resume discussions about personal safety of sex workers, initiate reviews of existing laws, study and prepare for legal reform that allows at least two sex workers to work in one apartment so that they can work in a safer environment. 

3) Improve law enforcement: The police should continuously monitor the effectiveness of different measures for protection for sex workers, and improve the attitudes of frontline police officers towards sex workers, so that sex workers can build up trust in the police and report cases of crime against them. 

4) Handle Cases Fairly: The police should fairly and seriously handle cases reported by sex workers and deliver a clear message to the public that sex workers are protected by the police and the law, as all citizens are. 

5) Two Murder Cases Unsolved: Two sex worker murder cases, which happened in Tsuen Wan in November 2008 and January 2009 are still unsolved. We call on the police to make all efforts to investigate the cases and bring the murderer or murderers to justice. 

Action for REACH OUT (AFRO) 

28 July 2009