Senior triad member hit by car and chopped to death on doorstep of Kowloon Shangri-La

Police are hunting at least five men after a 41-year-old senior triad member was knocked down by a car and hacked to death on the doorstep of a five-star hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui.

Lee Tai-lung was hit by the car at about 4am yesterday as he stepped out of his silver Mercedes-Benz after parking it at the Kowloon Shangri-La.

'Another vehicle arrived, then several men got out of it and attacked the man with knives,' Chief Inspector Glenn O'Neill of the Kowloon West anti-triad unit said. Both cars and the attackers fled the scene immediately.

Lee suffered severe chop wounds to his arms and was taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital, where he was declared dead shortly before 6am.

One hour after the attack, police found two burnt-out cars on Lam Kam Road, Tai Po, which they believe are connected to the killing.

An officer investigating the case said Lee was a senior member of the Sun Yee On triad. Once a boxer, he went by the nickname Thai-lung and became a 'red-pole fighter' for the triad, a senior rank that usually plays an enforcing role. Active in Tsim Sha Tsui, he even staged a show of force at the district's police station in August 2006, bringing 64 supporters when he reported to police as part of his bail conditions on an assault charge.

Senior Inspector Wilson Yung of the West Kowloon anti-triad unit refused to identify the victim or say whether the attack was triad-related. He said at least five people were being sought since there were two drivers and three people did the chopping.