"I have so much money that I can't spend it all. Now when I see women, I'll avoid them, especially attractive women."
Man, 69, with 'too much money to spend' vows to stay away from attractive women in future
Austin Chiu
Apr 18, 2012
"King of Shoes" Patrick Tang Kim-kwan described his relationship with a former mistress who cheated on him with a young television actor as a "nightmare memory".
Tang, 69, who admitted being deeply embarrassed by Karen Lee Chi-ting's fling with former Mr Hong Kong Francois Huynh, called her an unfaithful liar.
He was testifying in the Court of First Instance on the second day of a trial in his attempt to recover ownership of three properties - in Sai Kung, Hung Hom and Tsim Sha Tsui - and the sale proceeds of a fourth, in West Kowloon. He said he had not given the properties as gifts to Lee because "they cost quite a lot".
Tang heads a shoe-trading empire, ATG Sourcing, and has an estimated fortune of HK$2 billion. The court heard earlier that the pair started their relationship in 2002. Tang was "madly in love" with Lee at first, he said yesterday. He put her name down as joint owner of a house at Marina Cove, Sai Kung, a half-ownership that he said was subject to Lee's faithfulness to him. But she proved untrustworthy over a seven-year relationship, he said.
"During the 'honeymoon' [in the first few months], my eyes were virtually blind and my ears virtually deaf," Tang said. "When you are in love with someone, you would not bother about [what people say about her]."
Tang claimed Lee told him in December 2002 that she was pregnant, but a medical report showed she conceived in March 2003.
Lee's lawyer suggested it would have been easy for Tang to tell if her belly was growing, and asked why he did not find out if she was lying.
"Did you have an intimate relationship with the defendant during the so-called honeymoon period?" the lawyer asked, clarifying that she meant sexual intercourse.
"A lot," Tang said. "She is not the first woman who became pregnant by me. I didn't pay attention [to the pregnancy claim]."
He said she had lied to him many times and that her pregnancy claim was not the only falsehood.
The court heard earlier that Lee's father was jailed for drug trafficking, her brother was bankrupt and she was jobless when she met Tang.
"She said to me, 'You treated me so well when I had such devastating experiences. Why on earth would I leave you?'" Tang told the court.
The court earlier heard that Tang juggled a wife and two mistresses. He gave Lee a HK$50,000 monthly allowance and paid the mortgages on the Hung Hom, Tsim Sha Tsui and West Kowloon homes. He also gave her jewellery worth HK$3.1 million as well as HK$4.2 million in cash.
Outside court, Tang said: "I have so much money that I can't spend it all. Now when I see women, I'll avoid them, especially attractive women."
The hearing continues before deputy High Court judge Anthony Houghton.
Drivers are impatient with pedestrians at zebra crossings. Pic by May TseApr 06, 2012
Motorists ignore zebra crossings
Most drivers in Hong Kong do not observe the traffic regulations by slowing down when approaching zebra crossings and giving right of way to pedestrians.
Instead, many of them intentionally drive faster to scare the pedestrians off the crossings as their vehicles are coming through. Some drivers even press the horn in order to frighten people wanting to cross.
Near my home on Taikoo Shing Road outside the office building One Island East, most vehicles (especially trucks and vans) go at speeds in excess of 40km/h and ignore those people who are waiting to cross the road at the zebra crossing.
I often see young children, the elderly, or foreigners who are new to Hong Kong step on the zebra crossings, presuming the vehicles must give way to them.
I have seen near-accidents as vehicles approached the crossing at high speed.
Drivers then have to brake suddenly to avoid hitting those people who have just stepped onto the road unaware of the reckless behaviour of motorists.
The government must impose regulations to make it a requirement that all vehicles must slow down to 10km/h within 20 metres of a zebra crossing.
Road signs must be put in place which make it clear that motorists must abide by this rule and reduce speed. Cameras could be installed to identify those vehicles that ignore this regulation.
In the long run, the government needs to cultivate a safety mentality in all the city's drivers, so that they recognise the importance of ensuring the safety of pedestrians.
Y. C. Lee, Quarry Bay
Kenneth Foo
Thursday, April 05, 2012
A domestic helper was killed in a bizarre accident yesterday when a suicidal woman jumped off the roof of a building in Tai Koo Shing and landed on her.
Police said a 55-year-old spinster, surnamed Yee, plunged from the rooftop of Shun On Mansion in the private estate. She died on the spot after landing squarely on a Filipino maid, surnamed Rabe, 49, who was passing by.
Rabe was crushed and knocked unconscious. She was taken to Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital, but died of her injuries.
Police contacted Yee's family through the mobile phone she left at the scene. Family members said the suicide may have come about due to emotional distress arising from a quarrel with her boyfriend the night before.
Rabe was walking through the sitting-out area of the estate at the time, which was around 10am. Passersby thought there was an explosion when they heard a loud "bang."
Three eyewitnesses who were sitting a mere two meters away reported that Rabe was walking under the 32-story block and carrying two plastic bags full of food and water bottles. Officers cordoned off the scene and set up a green tent to cover the body.
A police officer said at the scene that Yee was not a resident of Shun On Mansion, but lived in Tai Koo Shing. Closed- circuit television footage showed that Yee gained access by following a resident into the building.
Residents said canopies are needed to cover the open space on the ground next to buildings to prevent passersby from gettin
g hit by falling objects.
Officers also got in touch with the maid's employer who rushed to the hospital. The woman, who lives at Hing On Mansion in Tai Koo Shing, was distraught after hearing that Rabe had died, saying the maid had also been an intimate friend to the household for years.
Solicitor and Wong Tai Sin district councillor Wong Kwok-tung said Rabe's family is unlikely to receive employment insurance compensation as the accident happened on her day off.
"It is purely an accident and there is no wrongdoing involved," Wong said.
Joseph Law Kwan-din, chairman of the Hong Kong Employers of Overseas Domestic Helpers Association, said it is tragic that Rabe passed by "the wrong place at the wrong time."
He added: "This accident underlines the importance of employers signing maids up to a comprehensive insurance policy that will give full compensation, for injuries sustained through accidents like these can happen any time."
On March 10, a man, 37, jumped off a building in To Kwa Wan and landed on an 84-year-old passerby.
The younger man died on the spot and the passerby died four days later.
Visitor to Taikoo Shing eludes security to reach roof, from which she jumps to her death, crushing helper
Amy Nip and Clifford Lo
Apr 05, 2012
A woman leapt to her death from the roof of a block of flats yesterday - and landed on a passing domestic helper, killing her.
Yee Mo-yee, 55, plunged from the top of 30-storey Shun On Mansion in On Shing Terrace, Taikoo Shing, as the 49-year-old helper, whose name was given as Rabe, was walking past the building. Yee was certified dead at the scene, while Rabe died in Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital.
Surveillance cameras filmed Yee - who was not a resident - walking inside the building with a large group of people, unnoticed by security guards. She went to the rooftop, a door to which appears to have been unlocked, and left her slippers and mobile phone before plunging to the ground, Andrew Chiu Ka-yin, a Taikoo Shing district councillor, said.
The rooftop is divided into eight parts, each the property of the owners of flats on the 30th floor. The sections are fenced off, and owners are supposed to keep them locked.
"Unauthorised people entering the rooftop should trigger an alarm when they open a door, and flat owners on the 30th floor should be alerted," Chiu said.
As it was the Ching Ming festival yesterday, many unknown people - mostly relatives of residents - entered and left the building without the guards paying attention, he said.
Rabe worked for a family living in the adjacent Hing On Mansion. She was described as slim, with shoulder-length hair, and was carrying a shopping bag at the time of the tragedy.
The owner of flat D on the 30th floor, to which the portion of the rooftop from which Yee plunged belongs, bought the property on March 21, property agency Ricacorp said.
Chai Wan police are following up the case.
In February 2010, a woman died in Ma On Shan when an elderly neighbour landed on her after falling 27 floors in an accident.
Eddie Luk
Thursday, April 05, 2012
Police have launched a murder investigation following the discovery of a woman's decaying body in a suitcase floating in the sea off Hung Hom.
Swimmers out for an early-morning dip yesterday made the grim find.
Police said the woman, aged between 20 and 40, was of Asian descent and had been dead for between four and seven days.
She was wearing only underwear and there were no visible injuries on her body.
Police said they are still trying to confirm the woman's identity.
The light blue suitcase, which police said was about one meter in length and 75 centimeters in width, was first spotted by swimmers off the promenade near Tai Wan Shan Park on Wan Hoi Street.
One of them, surnamed Yau, said he pulled the case to shore with the help of another swimmer.
"There was a strong odor coming from the case when we brought it to the shore," Yau said.
"We stepped on it and tried to break it open, but we failed. Then we saw some hair spilling out of the suitcase."
Yau then reported their discovery to the police at around 7.40am.
A large number of officers arrived at the scene and after forcing open the case found the woman's body.
They cordoned off a section of the Hung Hom promenade and the sea close to the spot where the case was found.
A source not connected with the investigation told Sing Tao Daily, The Standard's sister newspaper, that the body may be that of a worker at a Jordan karaoke club who was reported missing by colleagues around the end of
last month.
The worker, said to be from Sichuan province, is aged around 30 and named Coco. She is said to have been living with her boyfriend, a Hong Kong resident with whom she has a daughter.
The source also claims the woman and her boyfriend, a gangster, had drug habits.
Forensic experts examined the body in a tent set up at the scene before it was taken to a mortuary at around 3pm.
Kowloon City assistant district commander Yeung Chi-choi said the cause of death has not been ascertained.
"We have not found obvious wounds on the body and we can't confirm the cause of her death," Yeung said.
"There were no identification papers or purse in the suitcase. Hence, the identify of the victim remains unknown at this stage."
It was not clear whether the case was dumped in the sea near where it was found or whether the current carried it there from elsewhere.
Officers from the marine police regional crime unit are treating the case as a murder investigation,
A post-mortem examination will be conducted to ascertain the cause of death. The suitcase was also taken away for forensic examination.
Swimmers drag piece of luggage from the harbour at Hung Hom to find it contains corpse, clad only in underwear, that had been in water for up to a week
Clifford Lo
Apr 05, 2012
A suitcase pulled out of Victoria Harbour by two swimmers yesterday was found to contain the corpse of a woman.
A murder investigation was launched after the grim discovery off Hung Hom, near the Harbourfront Landmark, at about 7.30am.
The light blue suitcase was spotted floating in the harbour by one swimmer. Curious about its contents, he enlisted the help of another man in the water to drag it out.
"The suitcase gave off a strong foul smell when we brought it to shore," he said. "We stepped on it to break it open, but failed.
"Then we saw hair spilling out of the suitcase and we immediately called police." After officers sealed off the promenade, they prised open the suitcase and found the corpse inside.
The body was that of an Asian woman, aged between 20 and 40. She was wearing only her underwear.
An initial examination found there were no obvious wounds on the body, said Superintendent Joseph Yeung Chi-choi, police assistant district commander for Kowloon City.
Devil. Whale. Chlorophyll, Violante, Treacle — you name it, Hong Kong probably has someone who goes by it. Inquisitive, enterprising and...
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