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Businessman, 76, held hostage for 18 hours

Fox Yi Hu

A 76-year-old businessman was kidnapped and held for 18 hours before being rescued by police. A police spokesman said the victim was not injured.

Police sources said a HK$1.3 million ransom paid by the victim's wife was recovered after a car chase between police officers and a kidnap suspect on Friday.

The Hong Kong Island crime squad arrested a 29-year-old man in the operation, but several other suspects are still at large.

Sources said the businessman received a phone call on Wednesday inviting him to inspect a batch of goods in a Sheung Shui guesthouse. He then drove from Hong Kong Island to Sheung Shui and parked near the KCR station, leaving his wife in the car.

His wife soon received a phone call asking for a ransom of HK$3 million.

Instructed by police, the wife kept bargaining with the kidnappers and delaying the ransom payment. She finally agreed to pay HK$1.3 million in cash in Pat Heung.

A suspect collected the ransom at about noon on Friday and drove off in a van. Officers launched a chase in several vehicles before intercepting him. Another suspect holding the hostage in Yuen Long abandoned him after suspecting that his accomplice had failed.

The case is still under investigation.

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