Renowned pianist arrested for assaulting wife during argument

Internationally renowned pianist Liu Shih-kun was arrested yesterday after he allegedly assaulted his wife in a row in North Point.

Police said the Tianjin-born pianist, 69, engaged in a physical struggle with his 48-year-old wife, surnamed Kao, during an argument at the Liu Shih Kun Piano and Arts Centre in the China Harbour Building on King's Road at about 6pm.

Ms Kao suffered injuries to her head, back and arms during the struggle. Liu was arrested for assault after an initial investigation.

Claiming he was feeling sick, Liu was taken to Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital with his wife after the struggle. He was seen with a covered wound on his face when he was taken away in a police van.

Liu met Ms Kao, his second wife, in 1982. They married in 1988 and moved to live in Hong Kong two years later. They had a son in 1996. Liu recently admitted to local media that their relationship had broken down and the pair were engaged in divorce proceedings.

Liu married his first wife, Ye Xiangzhen, daughter of Ye Jianying , the renowned Communist general and chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress from 1978 to 1983, in 1962 and divorced her in 1967 after being jailed for five years during the Cultural Revolution.