Fireman tried to blackmail businessman out of HK$40m to repay wife’s shopping debts
Defendant, who owed more than HK$1 million, hatched the plot because he wanted to repay money he borrowed when he was married to his shopping-obsessed ex-wife
PUBLISHED : Monday, 02 February, 2015, 5:23pm
UPDATED : Monday, 02 February, 2015, 11:07pm
Chris Lau [email protected]
To Chi-pong is now likely to be sent to jail.
A fireman hatched a plot to blackmail a well-known business figure for HK$40 million after he became heavily indebted because of his materialistic ex-wife, the District Court heard on Monday.
Judge Josiah Lam Wai-kuen ordered three reports to study To Chi-pong’s background and mental health after the defendant pleaded guilty to one count of blackmail.
To’s lawyer Barbara Wong told the court that her client, who owed banks and his ex-wife’s family more than HK$1 million, committed the apparently out-of-character offence because he wanted to repay money he borrowed when he was married to his ex-wife. She also added that To’s divorce from his demanding wife, who was found to be engaged in an extra-marital affair, took a toll on his mental state.
To’s relationship with his ex-wife’s family deteriorated because of the HK$800,000 debt he owed them. The court heard that the fireman, from Chai Wan Fire Station, was previously on good terms with them, despite the the divorce, before relationsturned sour.
“This has made his mental state even worse. He resorted to stock investment to repay his debts, but the debts only snowballed,” Wong said.
The court heard that in June last year, To sent two letters to a well-known busines figure, referred to as X, saying he possessed important information about his and his family’s safety. X’s assistant informed his boss and they decided to report the case to police.
A police chief inspector, pretending to be an aide to X, later spoke to To 11 times over the phone. During the conversations, To told the inspector that he knew of an armed gang from mainland China planning to kidnap X.
The court heard To knew of the “plot” because he was contacted by a man connected to the gang called “Kuen”, who asked him to look for a driver. The gang would apparently seize X near his home and each member of the so-called gang would demand HK$50 million in ransom payments.
As a way to undercut the mainlanders, To therefore demanded HK$40 million from the businessman – HK$30 million allegedly for “Kuen” and HK$10 millon for himself.
Prosecutor Sabrina See said the inspector was told: “If the defendant did not receive that payment, he could not guarantee unhappy events would not happen.”
But if X paid up, the court heard, To and Kuen would offer to kill the gang members for the businessman.
To was arrested when he met the inspector in disguise on July 3. Under caution, he admitted he fabricated the story to repay his debts.
In mitigation, the court heard To married his wife who loved shopping, in 2006. She had demanded To earned more to give her a better life. The couple have a four-year-old daughter and a seven-year-old son.
In 2010, To’s debts had already amounted to more than HK$100,000. He finally divorced his wife in 2013 when the defendant was told by a friend that she was having an affair.
Lam, the judge, urged the probation officer set to submit a report on To’s background to contact the ex-wife and her family to verify the defendant’s claims.
To will be sentenced on February 23. He was remanded in custody.
