Midea’s billionaire founder He Xiangjian rescued after kidnappers armed with explosives broke into his luxury villa in Foshan, China
- The home appliance tycoon’s only son, 55-year-old He Jianfeng, was reported to have sneaked out of the villa and swum across a nearby river to call the police
- Video circulating on China’s social media showed a dozen police officers surrounding a European-style mansion decorated with white marble Roman columns after the break-in on Sunday
The Chinese billionaire founder of Midea Group, one of the world’s largest home appliance makers, has been rescued from kidnappers who broke into his luxury villa in southern China over the weekend.
He Xiangjian, 77, estimated to be worth US$25 billion and ranked the 6th richest person in China by Forbes, was abducted by kidnappers carrying explosives at his home in Foshan, in Guangdong province, local Chinese media reported.
His only son, 55-year-old He Jianfeng, was reported to have sneaked out of the villa and swum across a river next to it to call the police, according to online news website TMTPost.
Local police arrested five suspects at around 5am on Monday, and no one was hurt during the arrest, according to an official police statement.
“The victim, surnamed He, was safe,” the police said. Public security bureaus at the provincial, city and district levels all “paid high attention to the case after receiving the report, and quickly dispatched officers to rush to the site,” it said.