Casino mogul rules out any links with attack on legislator
Macau casino mogul Stanley Ho Hung-sun yesterday flatly rejected suggestions of any links between himself or his staff in the attack on lawmaker Albert Ho Chun-yan in Central last Sunday.
The tycoon found himself confronted by dozens of journalists, some of them fielding hostile questions, after he attended a press conference for the Hong Kong Girl Guides Association's 90th anniversary.
Insisting that he did not know the vice-chairman of the Democratic Party, Stanley Ho said he could not understand why he had been dragged into the matter.
'How am I related?' he said. Asked whether his subordinates had been involved, Mr Ho said: 'That's absolutely impossible. I have never met him. You don't say I know a person by just having seen him on TV,' he said referring to the lawmaker, who is expected to be released from hospital today. 'Perhaps we are more or less related. We both have the surname Ho. That perhaps indicates the same family origin. I'm happy that he's recovered so quickly.' Asked if he would visit Albert Ho, the tycoon said: 'I don't even know him. How can I go and visit him?'
Stanley Ho is involved in a legal battle against his sister, Winnie Ho Yuen-ki, who has hired Albert Ho as her legal counsel.
Albert Ho is representing the Moon Valley Foundation, controlled by Ms Ho, in its challenge to the legitimacy of a planned HK$15 billion initial public offering of Stanley Ho's gaming flagship Sociedade de Jogos de Macau (SJM). Albert Ho said yesterday he had known Stanley Ho since he was young because he was a public figure. But the pair were not considered friends, he said. 'He may not categorise me as a friend. It doesn't matter. He is a public figure, I know him.'
The tycoon, who sits on the Standing Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said: 'Lawsuits have nothing to do with violence. Lawsuits are very common and [Winnie Ho] always lost. Now that she's hired [Albert Ho], I'm happy to take the challenge.'
Albert Ho said: 'Regarding the cases of Ho Yuen-ki and the Moon Valley Foundation, I will continue to handle them. As I said [on Tuesday], I will not back away. I will continue to do my job as a lawyer. But whether I will still be hired, it's the decision of Ho Yuen-ki and the Moon Valley Foundation.'
He said court cases in which lawyers had been subjected to violence had alarmed the police.
