When triad gangs went to war in Hong Kong: 2 murders in 2 days as 14K and Wo Shing Wo clashed in tit-for-tat attacks
- A gang fight in a Mong Kok billiard hall in 1975 left one man dead and several wounded. Another man was murdered in a revenge attack
- A 19-year old man was sentenced to death for murdering an 18-year-old 14K member in the original attack, his sentence later commuted to life imprisonment
“Detectives were yesterday keeping a close watch on the movements of suspected triad elements following reports of possible new gang warfare between members of the notorious 14K and Woo Shing Woo [Wo Shing Wo] triad societies,” reported the South China Morning Post on February 5, 1975.
“Senior police officers in Kowloon reportedly have discussed measures to counter a blood-bath clash between the two societies.
“The first signs emerged on Sunday with the killing of a 14K triad society member and the wounding of several others in an attack by elements of the Woo Shing Woo at the Sun Hing Amusement and Billiard Saloon in Mongkok. The victim has been identified as So Sham-pong, an 18-year-old locksmith.
“Tension mounted further on Monday night after a youth, believed to be a member of the Woo Shing Woo, was stabbed to death in Tsuen Wan by a group believed to belong to the 14K. Leung Chi-wah, 18, was found with multiple stab wounds outside Block 269 of Tai Wo Hau Estate. He died on the way to hospital.”
On February 7, the Post reported that a man was “charged in North Kowloon Court yesterday with the murder of a youth during a gang fight in a Nathan Road billiard saloon on Sunday. The accused [was] Li Chik-sang (19) [who was] alleged to have killed So Sham-pong.”
On June 30, 1976, the Post reported that “the Governor, Sir Murray MacLehose, has decided to commute to life imprisonment the death sentence passed to Li […] who was convicted last October of killing another youth during a triad attack. The Governor made the decision after taking into consideration the advice of the Executive Council.
“Li was found guilty of murdering So Sham-pong […] in the Golden Bell Billiards Room in Nathan Road in February last year.”
