need to knowA five-minute primer on an issue making headlines
News that a prison officer smuggled two letters out of Stanley Prison for one of Hong Kong's most notorious criminals made headlines last week and forced property tycoon Joseph Lau Luen-hung to explain his connections to the infamous Yip Kai-foon.
Who is Yip Kai-foon and what did he do?
Perhaps best remembered as the AK-47 guy, Yip and his gang robbed jewellery stores in the 1980s - making more than $20 million - using assault rifles. Allegedly trained in military combat on the mainland, Yip was famous for spraying bullets from his AK-47 above crowded streets to keep the police at bay. First captured in 1985, Yip escaped from Queen Mary Hospital in 1989 and became Hong Kong's most-wanted man, with a $1 million reward. In the next 11 years he robbed seven jewellery shops, killed a policeman, and kidnapped and killed a Shenzhen businessman. On May 13, 1996, a rookie policeman shot him three times - paralysing him for life - after spotting him in Western. Yip is serving a 36-year sentence.
Was he the first of his kind?
No, Yip is Hong Kong's third 'king of thieves'. Before him, 'Sand Pear' Cheung Sai-hung and 'Hunan Tiger' Chan Fu-kui had made buying diamonds a life-threatening activity. A founding member of the Big Circle gang, Cheung recruited ex-PLA officers to rob jewellery stores in Hong Kong in the early 1980s. He was convicted of three robberies and manslaughter - he killed the owner of a jade shop - and is now a free man after serving 15 years in jail. But when it comes to vices, the 'Hunan Tiger' stands above the rest. In 1985, Chan robbed a watch store, a jewellery shop and an armoured vehicle, shot seven policemen, took part in the gang rape of two women and attempted to kidnap a tycoon. The 24-year-old was captured the same year and served a 20-year sentence.