Advertisement
Advertisement
Bossini heiress kidnapping
Get more with myNEWS
A personalised news feed of stories that matter to you
Learn more
Zheng Xingwang, who was arrested when he tried to leave Hong Kong on Sunday, leaves Kwun Tong Court yesterday. Photo: Sam Tsang

Gang who kidnapped Bossini heiress may have buried cash in border area

Police say suspects could be hiding in woods in Sha Tau Kok border area

The hunt for gang members accused of kidnapping Bossini heiress Queenie Rosita Law last night zeroed in on woodland in Hong Kong's Sha Tau Kok border area as police work on a theory that the gang buried the HK$28 million ransom cash in the city as they made their escape.

The has also confirmed that all six core members of the gang - at least two of whom are the focus of the border area search - came from Guizhou province in the southwest of the mainland and entered Hong Kong using valid travel documents.

We don’t rule out the possibility that they buried the ransom money
A SOURCE

The developments came a day after six men were arrested in Guangdong and follow the appearance in court yesterday of a seventh suspect detained by Hong Kong police on Sunday.

It is unclear how many of those arrested by the mainland authorities are suspected of being part of the core gang who snatched 29-year-old heiress Law from her Sai Kung home on April 25 before releasing her unharmed three days later.

A source with knowledge of the investigation said: "It is possible at least two of them are hiding out in woods in the Sha Tau Kok border area and looking for an opportunity to flee Hong Kong through illegal channels. We don't rule out the possibility that they buried the ransom money somewhere in Hong Kong before splitting."

Information passed to the Hong Kong police by their mainland counterparts has convinced detectives here that at least two of the gang accused of entering the Law residence 11 days ago are still in the city.

Locals in Guizhou's Wengan county, where the accused gang members came from, said the formerly crime-ridden area had been cleaned up after a change of county party leadership in 2008, and many gangsters who operated there had moved.

"Armed robbery and shooting on the street used to be commonplace here before 2008, and the police would usually hide themselves before the thieves left," said one taxi driver there.

On April 25, six Putonghua-speaking men broke into Law's house, abducted her and also stole more than HK$2 million in cash and valuables.

The kidnappers are suspected of holding Law - granddaughter of Bossini founder Law Ting-pong - in a secluded cave before calling her father and demanding more than HK$40 million for her release. That was later reduced to HK$28 million. Police have not found the cave where she was held for three days.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Kidnap gang may have buried cash
Post