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Cliff Buddle

A NINE-YEAR-OLD boy was kidnapped and murdered by a relative with a grudge against his wealthy grandfather, a High Court jury heard yesterday.

  Eddie Wong Wan-hin was abducted from his school, driven to a deserted spot in Tai Mo Shan and suffocated within 15 minutes of stepping out of the car, the court was told.

  The kidnap plot was allegedly hatched by Wong Wing-yuet, 20, a relative regarded by the boy as his uncle.

  Wong and unemployed Yip Sun-on, 20, have pleaded guilty to manslaughter and kidnap. But they both deny murder, blaming each other for the killing.

  The court heard Wong was desperate for money to repay gambling debts. He plotted to extort $3 million from the child's parents.

  But Fong Ka-yan, 20, the kidnappers' driver, told the jury Wong had another motive - he hated the boy's grandfather.

  Fong said Wong told him of his grudge against this man, his uncle.

  Wong believed the grandfather was responsible for informing his mother he had been 'whoring' in China.

  He had also been angry with the grandfather for pressing him for the repayment of a loan, even though he was wealthy.

  Fong told the jury: 'He hated his uncle very much.'   It was during a visit to Zhuhai in early September last year that the plot to kidnap the child was first discussed.

  Fong said he had lent Wong money for gambling and asked him how he would repay it.

  'He said he intended to abduct his uncle's grandson,' the witness added.

  Fong said: 'He said he would not do anything to the big one. He would only do something to the small one because the small one would be easier to abduct.'   Wong said he would kill the boy if the ransom was not paid or if his relatives went to the police, it was alleged.

  The boy was taken from the Buddhist Wong Cheuk Um Primary School on September 26.

  Fong later told the police he drove the car which took Wong, Yip and the child to Tai Mo Shan.

  He drove away, leaving them there, but received a pager message 15 minutes later, a signal for him to return, the court heard.

  Prosecutor Michael Arthur said Fong picked up the two defendants and when they stopped for Yip to make a telephone call, Wong told him what had happened to the boy.

  Wong allegedly told him Yip had approached the child from behind, poured ammonia on to a towel and covered the boy's mouth with it.

  Yip had not been strong enough to hold him by himself so Wong gripped the child's legs.

  'They kept the mouth of the child covered for one or two minutes. The child urinated and vomited,' said Mr Arthur. The boy was then bundled into a plastic rubbish bag and tossed down the hillside, the court heard.

  His parents later received 12 telephone calls in which ransom demands for $3 million were made. They were assured their son would be safe if they paid the money. The police were alerted and the kidnappers tracked down and arrested.

  Mr Arthur said: 'This is a very important trial, both for the defendants and for the wider community of Hong Kong.'   Fong pleaded guilty in January to forcibly detaining the boy with intent to procure a ransom. He has been given immunity from further prosecution relating to the killing.

   Eddie lived with his parents and a sister in a luxury apartment in Cloud View Road, North Point. His family runs an import-export business.

  His father, Wong Eng-kong, told the jury the defendant, Wong, was his cousin. But Wong had an uncle-and-nephew relationship with Eddie, the court heard.

  The trial, before Mr Justice Stuart-Moore, continues on Monday.



Boy's killer 'had grudge'