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Cliff Buddle

THE fate of murdered schoolboy Eddie Wong Wan-hin was sealed on the gaming tables of Macau and China where his errant 'uncle' squandered thousands of dollars.

  When Wong Wing-yuet, 20, needed quick cash to repay gambling debts he decided to sacrifice the life of his young relative as part of a plot to extort $3 million from Eddie's parents.

   The boy was murdered so he could never step into a witness box and put Wong behind bars.

   Eddie's life was in sharp contrast to the man he called his uncle. He was a popular child who, with almost his last words, told the kidnappers he was fond of his family and enjoyed school.

    Eddie's father said: 'He was a kind-hearted and obedient boy. He was very pure.'     The same could not be said of Wong.

    Just out of his teens the casual labourer enjoyed nothing more than wild trips to Macau and Zhuhai where gambling and womanising were the main attractions.

    When in Hong Kong, Wong and his cronies would frequent karaoke bars, amusement centres, and billiard rooms.

    One of Wong's companions on the seedy excursions to Macau and China was his old school friend Fong Ka-yan, 20.

    Fong was to become the prime prosecution witness against Eddie's murderers, Wong and Yip Sun-on, 21.

    Had he not decided to turn Queen's evidence in return for immunity from prosecution on the murder charge the truth about the boy's death may never have been known.

    Fong revealed that far from being a tragic accident, part of a kidnap which went wrong, Eddie's death had been intended all along.

    He told the jury the plot was hatched by Wong to provide the money he needed to repay gambling debts.

    Wong, nicknamed 'the Dog', was being pressed hard for repayment of the loans, the court heard.

    Fong also exposed the secret grudge harboured by Wong against Eddie's rich grandfather, Wong On-chak, 75.

    The two friends met when Wong returned to Hong Kong from Taiwan in August last year looking for a good time.

    On August 23 Wong and Fong set off for Macau 'to have some fun'.

    Wong quickly gambled away the $13,000 he had. Fong lost $4,000.

    Hungry for more cash, Fong used his family's gold credit card, without authority, to lay his hands on a further $35,000.

    Again this money was squandered.

    As they returned to Hong Kong, Fong became worried about getting back his parents' money and asked Wong how he intended to pay back his share. Wong's reply gave a sinister clue to what was to follow.

   He said he would get the money 'by any means'.

    Later Fong used the gold card to buy a gold necklace for $15,000. He gave this to Wong who sold it. Fong also borrowed $15,000 from his mother. Another trip to Macau led to a further $8,000 being lost.

    But it was on September 9 in Zuhai, where yet another $10,000 was gambled away, that Wong revealed his plan to kidnap Eddie.

    When Fong again asked him how he intended to repay the money Wong told him he would abduct his uncle's grandson.

    'He said he would not do anything to the big one, he would do something to the small one because the small one would be easier to abduct,' Fong said.

    Wong told him he hated the boy's wealthy grandfather who, he said, had informed his mother that he had been 'whoring' in China and pestered him for repayment of a loan.

    Fong asked what would happen if the family did not pay the ransom. Wong told him he would 'poke down the child'. Eddie would also be killed if the abduction was reported to police.

    When the two men returned to Hong Kong, Yip was recruited and the plot gathered pace.

    Ironically, Yip agreed to take part because he needed money to apply for a lawyer to defend him on charges of attempted burglary.

    The gang intended to flee to Macau once they had their hands on the ransom money and head straight for a casino. The plan was to exchange the cash for gambling chips to make it more difficult to trace.

    But just as in the casinos their gamble did not pay off. They were arrested without the ransom being paid.



Sordid path to boy's slaughter