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Originally posted by HKBloke
What, The Ark Veterinary clinic ?

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Hong Kong bars - DANGER!!!!!

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This news isn't new, it's being going on for years. But recently, it seems to have got much worse here in Hong Kong, usually a very safe city.

It's regarding having drinks spiked. One's drink gets something put in it and one then is either releived of one's belongings or the cash in one's bank account. The usual drug is Rohypnol which was commonly used as a 'date rape drug' due to the fact that the victim remains conscious but very open to suggestion to things such as sex, or divulging their PIN numbers.

My first encounter of this in Hong Kong was in 2002 when my wife and two of our female crew had their drinks spiked in Wan Chai. I was alerted to my wife's strange behaviour and immediately got her and the two crew back to the hotel. One of the crew was very poorly as a result and had to stay a couple of extra days. I suspected it was the bar staff spiking the drinks as I don't see how anyone else could have got to my wife's drink, from me receiving it in my hand from the barman to me putting it in her hand. I put this suspicion to a friend of a friend who runs a bar in Wan Chai, but she refuted it. However, I'm not so sure.

But recently, I've been hearing of more and more stories. Nearly all are from Wan Chai and lots are first hand stories from the victims. They include:
Two Americans recently found dead in a hotel room. Two Phillipina prostitutes were arrested after being seen leaving the hotel with some of their belongings. The papers carried stories of a Rohypnol type drug being administered, but then the official police story was that they themselves had taken an overdose of illegal drugs. However, not many here believes this.

A friend (Pilot) being woken up at 8am by the police having slept on the grass in a public park. He was without his watch or wallet. The police kindly gave him a lift home!

Another friend (Pilot) finding a lot of money having being taken out of his bank account during a night out. He has vague recollections of being at an ATM machine with a woman.

A woman who lives in my town was drugged and raped. She was found wandering the street by the police in a confused state. As a result of this encounter, she became pregnant as well as contracting VD.

Another friend (Pilot) went to meet a friend for a quick drink while taking his computer to Wan Chai to get repaired. He was drugged, but luckily the friend realised and got him home. This is the second time this chap had been drugged!

All of the above happened in regular bars, not girlie bars or dives. Evidence suggests that the bar staff spike the drink and then let the 'fleecers' know whose drink has been done. The friends in the examples above and the raped woman were not party animals or 'away players' putting themselves at risk. In the case of the computer owner, it was one small beer. And in the case of the two dead Americans, it may not have been them who suggested they prostitutes accompany them to their room. As I mentioned, Rohypnol makes the victim very suggestive. Ordianry people are at great risk, which is why Rohypnol is the drug of choice.

So how do you avoid this threat?

The obvious ones are don't go to the bars in Wan Chai in the first place. however, no-one wants to live like a monk when in a place like Hong Kong - and it's happening elsewhere as well. The dead Americans had apparently gone out in Tsim Sham Tsui. So what else can you do?

- Drink from bottles. They're a lot harder to spike. Especially when you insist on seeing them opened in front of you. You could even insist on having it delivered with the cap on and opening it yourself with your own opener. I've seen it done! The bars don't like it, they will argue about licencing laws. Just go somewhere else or refuse the drink if you don't like it.

- Never put your drink down. If you need the loo, give it to a mate to hold.

- If your drink tastes or smells funny - stop! But beware that Rohynol is odourles and tasteless.

- Don't drink alone. And get you and your mates to look out for each other - particularly the girls. Don't let anyone go off with a stranger unless you are absolutely convinced they are alright and it's what they want to do.

- Suspect everyone. Some of the bars have Phillipinas and Indonesian girls hanging around. Evidence suggests these are the bars which are the most likely that spiking will occur.

- Leave your ATM and Credit cards in the hotel safe. Carry enough cash for the night, and no more. Buy an Octopus Card (pre paid travel card). If you spend all your cash (or lose it!) you can at least get a bus home. (Taxis don't take Octopus). Leave the Breitling in the safe, buy a cheap watch to wear out and about. Don't wear expensive jewelry and if you need to take your phone, don't take the iPhone with you. Use an old one and have a pre-paid sim card in it! (Available from any 7-11).

- Be selective about where you drink. if you go to one of the hostess bars on the Lockhart road, you're asking for trouble.

- Listen to advice. If you know a bar has problems - avoid it. Tell others if you know of a problem. Post the details on the comapny web-site. Get the company to warn crews or even blacklist the bar. (This has been done on at least one occaision to my knowledge).

And if you do become a victim, report it to the police. They haven't been that pro-active in reducing the problem but the more instances they know about, the more they will feel obliged to act. And get medical advice. You don't know what you have been slipped and it what dose. (Think of the dead Americans!). I know of another instance first hand (in a different Asian city) where the victims were slipped a near lethal dose of intravenous valium in their coffee. They were very very poorly for a long time.

I know which bars these incidents happened in, but I'm not prepared to list them here. But I will say that these bars are the ones popular with aircrew and do seem relatively safe.

Be careful out there!

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I was alerted to my wife's strange behaviour

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No - they died of an overdose of speedball (cocaine & heroin mix apparently). They had a history of drug abuse. It was just coincidence that they had a couple of girls with them in their room at the time.

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