Li Ka-shing broke his silence of 17 years to say he never had second thoughts when asked to pay HK$2 billion by the kidnapper of his eldest son Victor Li Tzar-kuoi
November 30, 2013 Leave a comment
What tycoon told gangster who abducted son
Staff reporter
Friday, November 29, 2013
Li Ka-shing broke his silence of 17 years to say he never had second thoughts when asked to pay HK$2 billion by the kidnapper of his eldest son Victor Li Tzar-kuoi. However, Li said he told the gangster “Big Spender” Cheung Tze-keung that he could get his hands on only HK$1 billion immediately and that he would have to go to the bank to get the rest.Li said he also advised Cheung to run away and become a good man as the money would be enough to last him the rest of his life.
Cheung, who went alone to Li’s residence to collect the ransom, abducted Victor Li as he returned from his Central office to his home on Deep Water Bay Road in 1996.
“I have only HK$1 billion in cash and if you want, I can go to the bank to take money for you,” Li told Cheung, according to a mainland newspaper interview.
Asked why he was able to react so calmly, Li said this was because the mistake was his – for not making proper security arrangements.
“We were well-known but I did not make proper security arrangements at the time,” he said. “When I drove to the New Territories to play golf early in the morning, there were a lot of vehicles on the road and I never thought about security.”
Li said despite his advice, Cheung gambled all the money away and called him several months later to seek advice on a safe investment.
“I told him the option was his – to become a good man or to become miserable,” he said.
Cheung was later arrested by the mainland police and executed in 1998.
At the trial in Guangzhou Intermediate People’s Court, the most wanted man in Hong Kong admitted he was trying to kidnap any of Li’s family members and ended up taking Victor Li.
Cheung also said Li had given him HK$1.38 billion. He added Li was very polite when he handed over the money and that he had promised not to touch any member of Li’s family again.
Cheung confessed he also kidnapped Sun Hung Kai Properties’ Walter Kwok Ping-sheung in 1997 and was paid HK$600 million after negotiations.
In January 1998, Cheung was captured in Guangdong along with several gang members. His crimes included murder, kidnapping and robbery.
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