'There are still a lot of rich people in Hong Kong and the stability of this community cannot be allowed to be jeopardised by the proliferation of these offences in our midst,' said Mr Justice Peter Nguyen as he sentenced the kidnappers to jail terms of up to 21 years. 'Kidnapping is a vicious, cowardly, disgusting, horrific, callous, evil offence,' he said. The kidnappers' actions warranted a 'condign and deterrent' sentence.

'A clear message must be sent to people like-minded of the four [kidnappers] that society will not tolerate this offence of kidnapping,' he said.

The Court of First Instance heard that Mr Lam was abducted in a Tsim Sha Tsui East car park on September 4 last year when he was approached by one of the men, who posed as a police officer.

Mr Lam was pistol whipped and shoved into a van where he was pinned down, handcuffed and blindfolded.

He was driven to a hut made of metal sheeting where members of the kidnapping gang told Mr Lam that although he was worth $200 million to them, they were willing to ransom him for $50 million.

The ransom was eventually negotiated down to $5 million.

Authorities managed to close in on the gang after Mr Lam's partner called them after he was told to raise the funds.

Police tracked the gang by tracing the car they used in the ransom pick-up and by using a special fluorescent powder dusted on the money. It was the first time the powder had been used in Hong Kong.

The gang's mastermind, Pun Luen-pan, 28, was jailed for 21 years after a Court of First Instance jury found him guilty of kidnapping for ransom.

Chi Ka-cheuk, 29, was jailed for 10 years and eight months after pleading guilty to the same charge while Tang Kai-wing, 26, and Li Kam-bun, 28, received 11 years and eight months after entering a late guilty plea.

To date, only $1,196,000 of the ransom has been recovered. This includes the $92,000 police found in Pun's pocket on his arrest, the $297,000 found in a black nylon bag in the gang's hotel room and the $300,000 handed in by a friend of Pun's wife.

Mr Justice Nguyen said kidnappers aimed for 'soft targets' whose routines and habits could easily be observed and noted.

Mr Justice Nguyen said the trauma of the offence also extended to the victim's family, wife and children who had to contend with an 'excruciatingly agonising' wait for their loved one's release.

He extended a commendation from the bench to the police officers involved in the kidnapping case.

'The speedy resolution of this case gives members of the public, who are unfortunate to fall victim to kidnapping, the confidence to report to the police instead of quietly delivering the ransom and hoping that their loved ones will be released,' he said.