Another surprise from Hong Kong: a 42-storey building caught fire. The location is in the ‘jungle of tall buildings’. The panic among skyscraper neighbors is extraordinary.
That’s the new building owned by the Kwok Brothers conglomerate: Empire Group.
The building isn’t even finished yet. But the designation is certain: the Kimpton Hotel.
you must have known location of this fire: Tsim Sha Tsui.
In downtown Kowloon. Near the ferry terminal crossing to the famous Hong Kong island.
Right next to Sogo.
Or just two buildings from the Sheraton Hotel and the Imperial Hotel.
Excited all night. The fire occurred at 00.00 a little past. Friday morning. Down Town Kowloon is only about 10 minutes from Kadoorie Hill, the home of the wealthy. That’s where the mutilated celebrity Abby Choi’s 4-room apartment is located. The Kwok Brothers always make big news. Understandably this family is one of the three richest people in Asia. They are always on the list of the richest people in the world. The biggest news about them You must still remember: Walter Kwok, the eldest of the three Kwok Brothers, is kidnapped. They don’t want to report to the police: they are afraid of being killed. Such is the threat of kidnappers. The negotiations were going on a lot. It’s been seven days and there’s still no agreement. When the talk was tough, Walter Kwok was moved to a dark room without light: for 4 days. Finally a ransom figure was agreed: 600 million Hong Kong dollars. Around IDR 2 trillion. Walter Kwok was released. The same kidnapper had succeeded in kidnapping Victor Li. He is the eldest son of the richest man in Asia, Hong Kong’s number 1 conglomerate: Li Kashing. This family also did not want to report to the police. Victor is the crown prince of Li Kashing – now the CEO of the group, taking over from his father. Li Kashing finally agreed to pay almost double Walter Kwok’s ransom. Around IDR 2.6 trillion. Crazy.
These kidnappers got almost Rp. 5 trillion in money in two years. The same kidnapper is still planning to hold Stanley Ho, another of Hong Kong’s richest people. Namely the ruler of gambling in Hong Kong and then became the king of gambling in Macao. But times are getting kinder to the kidnapper. In 1997 Hong Kong was returned to China. Hong Kong’s biggest gangsters can only be defeated by -jokingly – an even bigger “gangster”: the Chinese Communist government. The kidnapper’s name is immortal: Cheung Tze-keung. Born in 1950. His hometown was in a poor village in China’s poorest province at that time: Guangxi. Its western neighbor is Guangdong province.
At the age of 4, Cheung (Chang) was invited by his father to migrate to Hong Kong. Down a dark road. Hong Kong officially cannot accept the arrival of Chinese.
When he was a teenager, Cheung already had dreams of becoming rich in an easy way: becoming a thug. Robbery, kidnapping, murder is his work program. Spree is the vision and mission. When he already had a lot of money, Cheung was not stingy. Money is easy to get, also easy to lose. Members of the gangsters get a decent share. Rain is always evenly distributed around Cheung.
When staying at a hotel, tipping floods hit the hotel. Once gambling, Cheung once lost Rp. 200 billion. Cheung has also been arrested by Hong Kong police. He was sentenced to 18 years. Some of his men were sentenced to 41 years in prison. But Cheung is finally free. He appealed. There are no legal facts regarding his involvement.
There is no proof. There are no witnesses. British law in force in Hong Kong at that time allowed Cheung to go free. Everything is arranged very neatly. The ransom money, for example, must be cash. No digital footprint. Even when the money requested is very much. There were so many that they had to include 20 suitcases which were transported simultaneously by two Mercy limousine sedans. The delivery was in downtown Hong Kong. In Central. Namely on one of the quietest streets in Central. Now something like that is no longer possible in Hong Kong. A year after Hong Kong was handed over to China, Cheung was arrested. Brought to Guangzhou. In a dark way – just like when he came to Hong Kong when he was little. Chung fought back. By law, he cannot be brought to mainland China. Even if you have to deal with the police and courts, it is Hong Kong law that must apply. Including: criminal acts in Hong Kong cannot be extradited to China. Big gangsters can dodge in circumventing the positive law. Of course, China is better able to work out how to catch Cheung and bring him to Guangzhou. That same year, 1998, in Guangzhou Cheung was tried. Sentenced to death. Then immediately executed. He is 43 years old.
Kidnappings and murders are still happening in Hong Kong. But his class lives up to what Kwong Kau and his children did with their own ex-daughter-in-law: Abby Choi. Since the kidnapping, Walter Kwok has not been feeling well. His brothers started to question brother’s policy. Especially about his girlfriend’s involvement in the company. Walter himself was then removed from the company. Mainly because of health. Walter had to travel to America, England and Shanghai to treat him. Walter died of a stroke. Walter doesn’t know that his company is still growing. Even without him. But this family still continues to be in the news. Two days ago, the 42-storey new building caught fire reminded again that the Empire Group is still very victorious.(Dahlan Iskan)
