(HONG KONG)
Union of Catholic Asian News (UCA News) [Hong Kong]
April 28, 2026
By Luke Hunt
Operation Hurdler nets 325 suspects linked to the production, use and distribution of child porn online
East Asian police have arrested more than 325 people on suspicion of producing, using and distributing child pornography and other sex crimes across seven jurisdictions amid a crackdown on the scourge and warnings that further charges could follow.
In Hong Kong, police said nine people had been arrested in conjunction with transnational law enforcement agencies dubbed locally as Operation Hurdler, following hundreds of arrests in March and April in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, Thailand and Brunei.
“Initial investigation shows the suspects had downloaded child porn material through social media platforms, websites and torrent software, and stored them in their computers or phones,” said Ferris Cheung, a superintendent of the cyber security and technology crime bureau.
He told journalists the nine men most recently detained in Hong Kong were aged from 18 to 61 and that 15 computers and external storage devices and eight mobile phones had been seized containing more than 200 child porn videos and photos.
One of the men allegedly sexually assaulted a 12-year-old boy on multiple occasions between 2023 and 2024 after grooming him online before they met in person.
In Japan, the National Police Agency said 99 people aged 14 to 72 years were detained including 25 junior high and high school students who allegedly shared sexual images of classmates with friends.
The agency added a total of 445 people were arrested or had been investigated across the seven jurisdictions with Japanese police, acting on intelligence from Singapore, taking action against a man suspected of making child pornography accessible online.
Japanese police then provided intelligence obtained through cyber patrol activities to overseas counterparts. A nationwide crackdown in Thailand resulted in the March arrests of four men who sold child porn on social media platforms including Telegram and X.
The Singapore Police Force said April 28 that 11 men, aged between 22 and 44, faced a range of charges including the production and distribution of child sexual abuse materials, selling obscene materials and conducting sexual communication with a minor.
A further 16 people were assisting with ongoing investigations, Singapore police said in a statement, adding that two of the suspects allegedly made cross-border payments to a Malaysia-based person to access such materials via Telegram.
Northeast and Southeast Asian countries impose harsh penalties on child pornographers. Under Hong Kong law, possession of child pornography carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of HK$1 million or US$127,000.
Sentences of up to eight years and fines of HK$2 million can be imposed for the production or distribution of child pornography, which is becoming an increasing concern in the online world with authorities warning parents that boys are just as vulnerable as girls to predators.
It’s also an issue that has afflicted the Catholic Church, which was condemned by Pope Francis who told reporters in 2023 that live-streamed sexual abuse of minors is “one of the greatest scourges” of society today and a “criminality available to everyone through their phones.”
During the Hong Kong press conference, police cited a study conducted by the University of Hong Kong and Hong Kong Shue Yan University, where 15 percent of respondents admitted to having consumed child pornography, which was described as the tip of the iceberg.
Last year, Hong Kong police recorded 62 child porn-related cases, compared with 80 in the previous year but Tam Yik-wun, an acting superintendent in the crime wing support, said online sexual grooming remained a significant source of obscene content.
She said children were lured into sending intimate photos which are then used by offenders as blackmail for money or sex and that some victims erroneously believed that sending images through a view-once function — where messages and photos automatically disappear — is safe.