Alan Ho, a nephew of SJM Holdings’ Chairman Stanley Ho Hung Sun and managing director of the company’s Hotel Lisboa in Macau was among several executives caught up in a prostitution sting on January 13. According to Rádio Macau, police said 96 suspected prostitutes between the ages of 20 and 27 were held for investigation.
Six suspects including senior hotel executives were allegedly involved, reported GGRAsia. The ring is suspected to have been in operation since at least 2013, according to police reports, and police found a list with the names of some 2,400 sex workers, both Chinese and Vietnamese. The prostitutes were allegedly compelled to pay a fee to use the hotel for soliciting clients. The police estimates the ring made more than MOP400 million (US$50 million) since early 2013.
Prostitution is not illegal in Macau, but soliciting customers is a crime and organized prostitution is against the law, and sex workers must conduct their business in a private place.
Alan Ho is a longtime senior executive at SJM Holdings Ltd. and the nephew of SJM founder and Macau gaming kingpin Stanley Ho, according to the Wall Street Journal. Ho joined SJM’s senior management in 2002. He was “responsible for overseeing purchasing, renovation and maintenance,” according to a company statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange in 2008. SJM says he graduated from Harvard Law School and was decorated by the Macau government with a tourism Medal of Merit for “outstanding achievements, contributions and distinguished services” to the city.
A photo released by the police on its website showed six persons wearing black hoods at a table stacked with cash, computers and mobile phones, reported Businessweek.
In December 2010, the Macau police arrested more than 100 women at another casino resort, the Venetian Macao.
