Sichuan mining tycoon's fall from philanthropist to 'triad boss'

Before the state media exposed his alleged role in a mafia-style gang involved in at least nine deaths on Thursday night, Sichuan mining tycoon Liu Han was better known as the "most generous philanthropist" behind the province's "safest primary school" that survived a devastating 2008 earthquake.

Liu, 48, is the former chairman of privately owned conglomerate Sichuan Hanlong. The tycoon, who holds a Hong Kong ID, was ranked 148th in Forbes' 2012 list of China's richest men, with an estimated fortune of US$855 million.

Despite Liu's preference for staying away from media attention, a school that he helped build near the site of a major earthquake in Sichuan propelled him into the limelight in 2008.

Liuhan Hope Primary School, built in 1999 and situated less than eight kilometres from Beichuan, the epicentre of the quake, was one of few schools to emerge from the disaster unscathed. All its pupils survived.

Shortly after the Sichuan quake, the billionaire donated more than 50 million yuan to charity groups for disaster relief. The move propelled him to greater prominence and, in 2009, he was ranked 16th in the Shanghai-based Hurun Report's China Philanthropy List.

But it did not take long for Liu to fall from grace. Last March, as his company was engaged in a US$1.4 billion deal to acquire Australian mining firm Sundance Resources, the tycoon was placed under house arrest by Beijing police for harbouring his brother, a murder suspect on the run.