Teddy Wang, Victor Li and Walter Kwok – the Hong Kong billionaires and Asian entrepreneurs kidnapped and blackmailed by triads and gangs

Jul 27 , 2020

Victor Li, Wong Yuk-kwan and Walter Kwok Ping-sheung (from left) – 3 billionaires who suffered at the hands of kidnappers and ransomers. Photo: SCMP

Long before Chinese billionaire and Midea Group founder He Xiangjian was rescued from kidnappers by police, these 4 famous Asian businessman were abducted by cash-hungry triads – but only 3 were ever seen again

On June 15, 2020, Chinese police rescued He Xiangjian, one of China’s richest men and founder of Midea Group, one of the world’s largest producers of appliances. He had been the latest Asian billionaire to experience a kidnapping ordeal, serving as a reminder that a wealthy, high-status person is an alluring target for kidnappers seeking major paydays. Here are some past, infamous kidnappings of Asian billionaires:

Teddy Wang Teh-huei

Chairman of property development firm Chinachem Group, Teddy Wang was reported to have survived several kidnappings over the course of his career. However, when he was kidnapped from his Mercedes on April 10, 1990, the 56-year-old did not resurface as he had after previous ordeals.

This attack was believed to have been well-orchestrated by a gang operating in separate cells across Hong Kong, mainland China and Taiwan. Although his wife paid HK$468 million (US$60.4 million) for half of the ransom, Wang was never returned. He was reported to have been bound, gagged and thrown into the sea by his kidnappers and was officially declared dead in 1999.

Victor Li Tzar-kuoi

Victor Li, son of Hong Kong's richest man Li Ka-shing, at a press conference in March 2018. Photo: AFP

In the late 1990s, high-profile kidnappings by Chinese gangster Cheung Tze-keung, nicknamed “Big Spender”, shook Hong Kong. One of his targets was Victor Li, chairman of CK Asset Holdings and CK Hutchison, and also elder son of Li Ka-shing, Hong Kong’s richest man. On the evening of May 23, 1996, Li was seized at gunpoint when his car was cornered near his home at Deep Water Bay. He was released upon the ransom payment of HK$1 billion (US$129 million), reported to be the largest ransom ever paid.

Li Ka-shing shared in an interview 17 years later that Cheung had turned up at his home and ordered a HK$2 billion ransom for his son's release. Li told Cheung that he could only give half of the requested amount immediately – which Cheung accepted.