Pakistani "killed 3 Hong Kong prostitutes in 2 days" (2nd Roundup)

Mar 19, 2008, 8:54 GMT

Hong Kong - A 24-year-old Pakistani man appeared in court Wednesday charged with murdering three Hong Kong prostitutes in the space of two days.

Nadeem Razaq appeared accused of killing the three women at the flats where they entertained clients last Friday and Saturday in a killing spree that terrorized the city's prostitutes.

No plea was taken from Razaq at the hearing in Hong Kong's Fanling Court and he was remanded in custody until next Tuesday while investigations into the killings continue.

Meanwhile, a hunt was continuing for a 'copycat killer' believed to have taken advantage of the murdering spree to strangle to death a fourth prostitute in another part of the city on Sunday.

A fast-working solo serial killer was initially believed to be responsible for the four killings - all believed to be by strangling - which were discovered between Saturday and last Monday.

However, police said the fourth murder could not have been carried out by the 24-year-old suspect who was outside Hong Kong and being tailed by detectives when the fourth victim died.

Razaq, a Hong Kong resident of Pakistani descent, was arrested as he arrived back in Hong Kong by ferry early Tuesday from the neighboring gambling resort of Macau.

Two mobile phones believed to have belonged to two of the victims were found on the suspect when he was arrested, said police, who believe the motive for the killings might have been simple robbery.

The first victim, a 35-year-old prostitute, was found Saturday strangled with a shower hose in the bathroom of her home in the city's Yuen Long district near its border with mainland China.

On Sunday morning, a 30-year-old prostitute died in hospital after being found unconscious in her flat in nearby Tai Po. A third victim, 35, was found in her flat Monday morning, also in Tai Po.

The first woman is believed to have been murdered on Friday while the second and third are believed to have been killed on Saturday.

The fourth victim, a 27-year-old prostitute, was found dead in the city's North Point district hours later on Monday afternoon. She is believed to have died on Sunday when the suspect was in Macau.

Prostitutes in the city of 6.9 million fear a copycat killer might be at large - something police say they cannot rule out - and have called for greater police protection.