A Hong Kong triad leader behind a US$1 million plot to shoot media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying and former Democratic Party chairman Martin Lee Chu-ming has died in a Shenzhen hospital, months after being sentenced to five years in jail.
Other key defendants in the case are waiting for an appeal hearing, to be conducted by judges from the Guangdong provincial court.
Yu Wai-shan, 63, known as 'Fat Yu', died of an undisclosed disease a few weeks after the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court on December 18 jailed 10 men behind the plot for three to 18 years, a judicial source familiar with the case said.
Yu, a key defendant in the case, was jailed for attempting to cause injury. He was the only defendant absent from the sentencing as he was severely ill.
The source said Yu's death was not suspicious and would have little effect on the pending appeal hearing.
Court clerk Li Mingzhen , who helped administer the trial, confirmed Yu's death. Li said Yu was ill with a liver problem during the trial and died shortly after the sentencing.
The triad boss was suffering from respiratory problems and oedema during a hearing on November 20. He was allowed to attend the hearing without being handcuffed. Yu's lawyer in November applied for his medical parole but was unsuccessful.
