Teens sell sex to purchase designer wear

An increasing number of Hong Kong teenagers are selling sex to earn money for designer clothes, in a trend called “compensated dating”, a survey released on Sunday indicated.

One in 10 students questioned said they believed schoolgirls were involved in the practice and 6.6% said they knew fellow students who had done it.

87% of the 3,000 interviewees said they believed teenagers got involved in the practice to earn money to buy branded products. Police have arrested several men in recent months for allegedly working as pimps for schoolgirls as young as 13.

The trend for compensated dating, is believed to have spread to Hong Kong from Japan. A 19-year-old girl was arrested earlier this month after a video of her giving a man oral sex to earn $25 towards a Gucci handbag circulated online.