Kidnapper of Li Ka-shing's son asks tycoon for investing tips
Singapore - For the first time, Asia's richest man and Hong Kong businessman Li Ka-Shing has revealed details of the kidnapping of his eldest son, Victor Li, then-31, by gangster Cheung Tze-keung, who is also notoriously known by his nickname 'Big Spender'.
In report by South China Morning Post (SCMP), tycoon Li, also known as 'Superman', said that after the kidnapper Cheung collected the ransom money of HK$1 billion (S$162 million), he called him up and asked for advice on how to invest the ransom money.
The criminal wanted to know how to make 'safe investments', tycoon Li told the Guangzhou-based Nanfang Media Group.
The 85-year-old tycoon recalled telling the gangster that he had taken enough money to spend for the rest of his life, and that while there is a chance, he should "fly far and high". Li also told Cheung to "turn over a new leaf and be a good man"; if not, his "ending will be a sad one", reported the SCMP article.
According to Chinese crime investigation show Crime Files, Cheung was described as a heavy gambler and frequently lost huge amounts of money at the casinos in Macau. Together with his gang members from neighbouring Chinese cities, they committed a spate of robberies, murders and kidnappings in the 1990s according to reports online.
Cheung is best known for orchestrating the kidnapping cases of the two richest families in Hong Kong. A report in The Business Times in 1998 said Cheung had hatched his kidnapping plans as early as 1995 and his motive was to abduct the 10 richest men in Hong Kong 'one by one'.
On May 23, 1996, young tycoon Victor Li, eldest son of Li Ka-shing, was kidnapped by Cheung and his gang when he was returning to his home in Deep Water Bay Road from the office in Central. He was taken at around Shouson Hill Road West, blinded and handcuffed, reported Crime Files, and then driven to a hideout.
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According to online reports, Cheung had initially asked for HK$2 billion from the frantic family members of the Li household. Scared and concerned for the young Victor's life, the elder Li agreed to give Cheung the money. Cheung then showed up at the Li's home alone, with explosives attached to his body, to collect the ransom money, said Crime Files.
Elder Li did not have HK$2 billion of cash on hand so Cheung settled for HK$1 billion, according to SCMP. The young Victor Li was subsequently released after a day of capture.
Cheung and his gang mates were not satisfied with the billion-dollar ransom money, and just over a year later, the gang made their second kidnapping attempt on tycoon Walter Kwok on Sep 29, 1997. The Kwok family was described to be the second richest family after the Lis, reported The Business Times. The Li family, on the other hand, owns a conglomerate of businesses in retail, banking, property and various other business activities.
Property businessman Walter Kwok was beaten, stripped to his underwear and even shoved into 'a small wooden box' with punctured holes during his six-day ordeal, said various reports including The Business Times. The tycoon had reportedly refused to cooperate with Cheung and his gangsters, the Business Times added. This resulted in Cheung asking for a smaller ransom amount of HK$600 million (S$97 million).
In total, the Singapore business daily reported in 1998 that both families paid more than HK$1.6 billion to the notorious gangsters.
Cheung has been on the Hong Kong police's most-wanted list for many grievous crimes. After a month of investigations, police finally managed to capture Cheung in 1991 and had him sentenced to an imprisonment of 18 years, reported Crime Files. However, after four years, Cheung was released in 1995 after repeatedly appealing his case. A year later, he led his mates in the kidnap of Victor Li and followed by Walter Kwok.
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He was eventually arrested again in 1998 after Hong Kong police mounted an operation, which extended beyond the borders in Guangzhou and Shenzhen, against him and his gang mates.
In July 1998, police received a tip-off and found Cheung and his gang transporting suspicious boxes across the border. After a search, they found that the boxes were filled with around 800kg of explosives, reported Crimes Files.
The explosives were believed to be used to bomb a prison, said Crime Files. With the physical evidence, police made their move and arrested Cheung and his gang. They were later executed in a line of live-firing, said Crime Files.
SCMP reported that tycoon Li refuted a claim in 1999 that he had struck a deal with Hong Kong authorities that led to the execution of Cheung and four gang members.
Even after his death, the tycoons and their families were still affected by the kidnappings. Even up till today, tycoon Victor Li is rarely seen in public without his bodyguards, reported Reuters. The Kwok family also keeps a low profile in Hong Kong, where tycoons are "treated like movie stars'', reported The Straits Times.
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