Casino tycoon Stanley Ho Hung-sun says he will refuse to attend a top-level hearing in the Philippines investigating his alleged links to organised crime after branding the process an 'insult'.
And the Macau gambling chief said he might still drop his investments in the country despite President Joseph Estrada's 'sincere and agreeable' invitation.
Politicians in the Manila House of Representatives' committee on public order and security are understood to be ready to ask Mr Ho to appear before them to answer questions on his alleged crime links and the improper share dealings of a Philippines company - BW Resources - of which he is chairman.
But yesterday, in an exclusive interview with the South China Morning Post, Mr Ho said: 'I would consider being invited an insult. I haven't been yet, but I shall decline.
'I have invested all over the world and I have never been subject to such severe investigations. They are trying to bring me down - but unfortunately [for them] that is not too easy.' Of allegations he was a triad, he said: 'These reports only say that I know some triad members. Well, maybe you have come across some. To be associated with or to know someone is completely different [from being one].' He also sounded a warning to his accusers, saying he had not ruled out legal action.
'I am a fighter and I always welcome challenges, but I want to see clear evidence, without which they shouldn't bark any more,' he said.
Mr Ho has been mired in controversy over an intelligence report - supplied to anti-crime campaigners in the Philippines by a former Canadian police officer who worked in Hong Kong in the early 1990s - which alleges he has triad links and is involved in drug smuggling.