Brothel owner given Hao-Wanging by Court

[AllModCons]

Deported pimp's profits seized
by Nadia Jefferson-Brown

A BROTHEL owner who gained more than £55,000 from the sex trade has been stripped of thousands of pounds by a court.

Hao Wang was deported back to his native China last August following a two-year prison sentence after being exposed by an Evening Press investigation.

Now His Honour Judge Patrick Robertshaw has made a confiscation order against Wang of £22,105 - the assets available - at a hearing at York Crown Court.

Evening Press chief reporter Mike Laycock exposed the Oriental Rose brothel in August, 2003, after complaints from nearby residents about what was going on at the York property.

Wang, formerly of Edward Road, Balshall Heath, Birmingham, had set up the business at Whitley Close, Clifton Moor, shortly after landlady Annie Lambert stopped him running a brothel in her house in Montague Street.

He later pleaded guilty to living off prostitution and causing actual bodily harm. He was sentenced to two years in jail in February last year, and was deported after serving his sentence.

At the confiscation hearing Judge Robertshaw said: "At the outset I was seriously concerned about a hearing taking place in the absence of the defendant.

"There did appear to be something abusive about a state of affairs where the Government takes steps to remove an individual from the country, thereby depriving him from being heard in the course of ongoing confiscation proceedings commenced effectively by another arm of Government."

However, Judge Robertshaw concluded that he was "satisfied there would be nothing abusive, unfair or unjust" about concluding the case.

He said Wang had been present when an earlier confiscation hearing was postponed and a timetable set for proceedings.

Judge Robertshaw said Wang could have contacted the court about the timeframe while serving his sentence.

He also noted an application was made for the final confiscation application hearing - originally fixed for July 11, 2005, towards the end of Wang's sentence - to be adjourned until after his deportation.

Wang remained eligible for legal aid under a court order, however, and could still have been represented, he said.

"No such application has been made," said Judge Robertshaw.

The court heard that under the Proceeds of Crime Act, Wang's offences were considered to have led to "a criminal lifestyle".

Judge Robertshaw said Wang benefited from "not less than £55,900".

"The prosecution may suggest that ought to be higher, possibly by as much as £12,000."

However, he said that was academic as the available figure, held in a bank account under a court order, amounted to £22,105.

Wang's mother was in court and, through an interpreter, claimed she had paid debts for her son. But her bid to be recompensed from Wang's assets was turned down.

"I can understand why she feels a sense of grievance," said Judge Robertshaw, but he said he was bound by legislation which was "essentially confiscatory and penal".
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"The club will survive without them. They have neither the wit nor the intelligence to run a business of any kind." - Douglas Craig