When a gunman shot a developer in Hong Kong and took four hostages, having ‘lost every penny’ on a Discovery Bay business venture
- In 1979, a man shot and seriously wounded the head of the company developing Hong Kong’s Discovery Bay, then held a group of women hostage for five hours
- The man was in a business dispute with the company, having ‘lost every penny’ he had put into a catering franchise, which had ‘upset the balance of his mind’
“A lone gunman was talked into surrendering yesterday after terrorising four women hostages for five hours in a 26th floor Central office,” reported the South China Morning Post on August 1, 1979. “Minutes before the siege started at 10:30am, the 46-year-old man shot and seriously wounded the managing director of the Hongkong Resort Co Ltd, Mr Payson Cha.
“The ordeal for the women hostages ended after intense negotiations [ …] Police said the gunman – a caterer embroiled in a business dispute with the company – was lying in wait with a 6.35mm Beretta pistol outside Mr Cha’s office as he arrived for work.
The Post reported on February 22, 1980, that the “caterer Lau Wing was unanimously found not guilty by a jury in the High Court yesterday of shooting Mr Payson Cha [ …] with intent to do him grievous bodily harm”.
The acquittal came after the jury had deliberated for less than half an hour. Lau had pleaded guilty to false imprisonment of four women, possessing a firearm and ammunition. Mr Justice Addison sentenced him to a total of five years’ imprisonment on those charges.