Amid the media frenzy that has accompanied Stanley Ho Hung-sun's every recent move, the elderly casino magnate was taken to hospital yesterday for what was described as a routine procedure.
With cameras and reporters in close pursuit, Ho went to the Hong Kong Sanatorium and Hospital at 12.40pm, with his second-family daughters, Daisy Ho Chiu-fung and Maisy Ho Chiu-ha.
He left in the evening after undergoing what was said to be a routine procedure related to the breathing tube at the base of his neck.
Members of three of his four families arrived one after another and each arrival and departure brought a new flurry of excitement, with dozens of journalists yelling questions and flashbulbs popping.
When Daisy and Maisy left at 1.50pm, journalists flocked to the car and Maisy was pushed. 'If you push me to the ground, I will call the police,' she said.
This happened when the sisters returned to the hospital three hours later. Pushed to the floor in the lobby, Maisy demanded an apology. She was not the only one to lose her balance; a journalist fell to the ground when reporters swarmed third wife Ina Chan Un Chan's car as it arrived at the hospital.