Hong Kong's Sex Doll Brothel Closes Just Two Months After Opening

Just two months after putting on its red light, a venue billing itself as Hong Kong’s first ever sex doll brothel has been forced to shut down. Police raided the place and arrested the owner—a 30-year-old man by the name of Rex—as part of an “anti-obscene objects operation” last week, seizing 18 suspected indecent objects, three television sets, and three memory sticks, the South China Morning Post reports.

Located in a dimly-lit flat on the fifth floor of an industrial building in Kwun Tong, the venue known as This Mary charged customers an hourly rate of HK$480 (about $85 AUD) to use one of three lifelike silicone sex dolls. For HK$860 (about $150 AUD), male clients could bring a woman along and spend an hour-and-a-half with a doll. Those willing to fork out anywhere between HK$18,000 (about $3,200 AUD) and HK$30,000 (about $5,300 AUD) could even buy one of the models for themselves. Customers were required to wear a condom, and the dolls were soaked in disinfectant for half an hour after each romp, according to Inkstone News. The TVs were used for porn.

It wasn’t the “brothel” business itself that got Rex into hot water, though. According to a police source Rex was arrested for displaying his sex toys for sale without properly covering them—thus violating the Control of Obscene and Indecent Articles Ordinance—and for providing pornographic films to customers.

The three dolls-for-hire weren’t seized because there were no relevant laws that applied to them, the source said. Barrister Albert Luk Wai-hung confirmed that, as far as the on-site sex doll rental business was concerned, there were no grounds for police intervention—and while he praised the entrepreneurial spirit of people like Rex, he insisted that there were also ethical issues to be considered.

Rex has previously declared that This Mary is more than just a place where people can get their rocks off with an inanimate object. In his view, the sex doll service is aimed at people who struggle with intimacy and social interactions: giving them the opportunity to have a sexual experience, yes, but also a quasi social one.

“Someone may want to talk to people, but perhaps they are not good at social skills, and so they talk to the dolls,” he explained. “It’s more than sex.”

Authorities raided This Mary the same day that reports of the business started appearing in the press—and Rex says he was surprised by how quickly police responded. He was ultimately released on bail, and must report back next month. He couldn't say whether This Mary would ever open for business again.