Hong Kong police arrest 3 teens, rescue 19-year-old allegedly beaten with baseball bat and detained in hotel room over crypto profits of HK$180,000

“The victim was allegedly detained when he went there to meet the eight suspects – six men and two women,” the insider said.

“The group demanded he pay HK$180,000 in profits earned from trading virtual currency.”

He said the victim was verbally threatened and beaten with baseball bats by two of the suspects during the dispute.

The 19-year-old man managed to use his mobile phone to notify a female friend who then called police. Most of the suspects fled after discovering police had been contacted.

Two men were arrested outside the hotel while the third was detained in the room, according to the force.

The three men aged between 17 and 19 were detained on suspicion of assault, unlawful detention and blackmail.

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The victim suffered scratches to his arms and complained of pain in the waist area. He was rushed to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Yau Ma Tei for treatment.

A police spokesman said officers were searching for the other five teenage suspects – three men and two women.

Detectives from the Kowloon City anti-triad squad are handling the case.

Reports of criminal intimidation cases rose by 10.6 per cent last year to 1,505, from 1,361 in 2022.

Police handled 3,078 reports of serious assault in 2023 compared with 3,049 cases the year before.