A good week for ...
The musical director of the Hong Kong Sinfonietta led her 50-member orchestra on its maiden tour of North America to mark the 15th anniversary of the handover. The two-week tour will highlight new work by local composer Professor Chan Hing-yan and soloist Loo Sze-wang. "It is the right time for us to show to overseas audiences the progress we have made, something we are very proud of as Hong Kong musicians," said Yip.
The American financier recovered US$10 million (HK$77.5 million) worth of contemporary art stolen from his home in Santa Monica, California. Police said two suspects were arrested and the paintings recovered after raiding a car-stereo shop about 30 miles away and a nearby home. Gundlach's offer of a US$1.7 million reward played a key role in the return of the paintings, which included works by Piet Mondrian and Jasper Johns.
The media mogul and founder of the pro-monarchist "yellow shirt" movement was cleared of insulting Thailand's king by repeating excerpts from a speech by a political rival - Daranee Charnchoengsilapakul, a hardcore supporter of the rival "red shirts" who was jailed for 15 years in December for her comments. In February, Sondhi was sentenced to 20 years in prison for corporate fraud in a case dating back to the mid-1990s and he remains free on bail pending an appeal.
