Tight security at Shenzhen court for hearing into execution-style killing of millionaire Harry Lam
A Hong Kong businessman and former TV actor went on trial in Shenzhen yesterday for allegedly ordering the murder of millionaire Harry Lam Hon-lit at a Central tea house four years ago.
Yeung Ka-on, chairman of Yeung's Holdings appeared in Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court with seven other defendants - four from Hong Kong and three mainlanders.
Yeung, who was arrested in Shenzhen last December 2, is the latest Hong Kong resident to become involved in the case. He is alleged to have paid triad boss Lau Yat-yin, 47, to kill Lam, but Yeung's motive has not been spelled out.
Yeung and Lau have been charged with murder along with fellow Hong Kong residents Tse Bing, 47, Ho Ho-fu and Tsui Ming-yeung, and mainlanders Yang Wen , 27, and Zhang Zixin, 22. Another mainlander, Wu Weiwu , 25, has been charged with providing accommodation to criminals.
Lam, 54, a director of Hong Kong-based Digger Holdings and an investor in the Mission Hills Golf Club in Shenzhen, was killed with a single bullet to the head in the Luk Yu Tea House on November 30, 2002, as he ate breakfast. The execution-style killing in Hong Kong's busiest district shocked the public.
Yesterday's trial was conducted under tight security and in secrecy. Armed police guarded the court entrance. Only people with permits issued by court authorities were allowed to attend the trial, and many relatives and friends of the defendants had to wait outside.