Yip Kai Foon is a famous Hong Kong gangster who was most active in the early 1980s. He and his gang specialized in robbing jewellery stores with assault rifles. Their weapon of choice was the AK-47 assault rifle, which they acquired from black markets hosted by . He is also the first person to use an AK47 in armed-robbery in Hong Kong.
In 1984, when he was 23, Yip led a gang of five armed mainland men into Hong Kong. They robbed two jewelry stores, including one in the heart of the bustling financial district. Their haul: more than $700,000 of precious items.
A year later in 1985, Yip was captured and sentenced to 18 years in prison. But he escaped in 1989, when he faked appendicitis and was transferred to hospital. In the toilet, he jumped his two police guards with broken bottles and made off in a waiting van. He is presumed to have fled into mainland China.
In 1991, he and his gang, armed with AK-47s and pistols, robbed five goldsmiths shops in Hong Kong. They fired 54 shots at police and escaped with gold and jewelry worth more than $700,000.
Yip is thought to have been involved in a jewelry store robbery in 1993, when a gang fired 30 rounds from AK-47s, killing a woman passerby. One robber was shot by police during the chase; the others dumped his body on the street when they switched getaway cars.
The total worth of his stolen goods is estimated at 20 million Hong Kong Dollars . Yip achieved notoriety by escaping police custody multiple times. His career finally came to an end in 1996 when he was crippled in a gun fight with police. He was sentenced to 41 years in prison.
In prison, Yip converted to Christianity.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Wong Kwong Yu
Wong Kwong Yu, , also often called Huang Guangyu in mainland China, is the Chairman of Gome Group, which is the largest consumer electronics retailer in China. He had a net worth of US$1.7 billion as of 2005, according to Forbes Magazine's world's richest people ranking. In 2005, the richest man in China according to .
In 2006, he was forced by regulations to sell off 25% of Gome Group, as listed in Hong Kong, making his net worth US$2.5 billion, according to some sources. His amibitious goals include "making Gome one of the 500 largest companies in the world by 2008".
In 2006, he was forced by regulations to sell off 25% of Gome Group, as listed in Hong Kong, making his net worth US$2.5 billion, according to some sources. His amibitious goals include "making Gome one of the 500 largest companies in the world by 2008".
Vincent Lo
Vincent Lo or Lo Hong Shui, born in 1948, is the chairman of Hong Kong-based Shui On Group, a building-materials and construction firm.
Lo started business with the sum of HK$100,000 borrowed from his father, a Hong Kong property tycoon. In 1984 Lo began investing in Shanghai and built a hotel in partnership with the Shanghainese Communist Youth League. The Tiananmen Square crisis caused occupancy to plunge, and the league could not repay its construction loan. Lo assisted the league in dealing with the loan: Han Zheng was the Youth League secretary at the time, and is now mayor of Shanghai. In association with Xu Kuangdi, a former Shanghai mayor, Han assisted Lo in gaining the right to develop a piece of land surrounding the hall where the Communist Party of China held its first meeting, now known as Xintiandi. The $170 million property development project is a 20,000 square meter complex of restaurants, bars and shops and is a prime entertainment spot in Shanghai.
In 1995, Lo bought his first cement plant in Chongqing, which has enabled the Shui On Group to become one of China's top three cement companies.
Under Lo's direction, the Shui On Group is carrying out property development projects in other Chinese cities, such as Wuhan, Dalian, Foshan and Hangzhou, as well as Chongqing.
Lo started business with the sum of HK$100,000 borrowed from his father, a Hong Kong property tycoon. In 1984 Lo began investing in Shanghai and built a hotel in partnership with the Shanghainese Communist Youth League. The Tiananmen Square crisis caused occupancy to plunge, and the league could not repay its construction loan. Lo assisted the league in dealing with the loan: Han Zheng was the Youth League secretary at the time, and is now mayor of Shanghai. In association with Xu Kuangdi, a former Shanghai mayor, Han assisted Lo in gaining the right to develop a piece of land surrounding the hall where the Communist Party of China held its first meeting, now known as Xintiandi. The $170 million property development project is a 20,000 square meter complex of restaurants, bars and shops and is a prime entertainment spot in Shanghai.
In 1995, Lo bought his first cement plant in Chongqing, which has enabled the Shui On Group to become one of China's top three cement companies.
Under Lo's direction, the Shui On Group is carrying out property development projects in other Chinese cities, such as Wuhan, Dalian, Foshan and Hangzhou, as well as Chongqing.
Victor Li Tzar-kuoi
Victor Li Tzar-kuoi , a Hong Kong-based businessman with citizenship, is the son of tycoon and billionaire Li Ka-shing and the brother of Richard Li. Li had a net worth of $730 million CDN in 2006.
Born in Hong Kong, he holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering and a Master of Science degree in Structural Engineering from Stanford.
Victor Li was kidnapped in 1996 by notorious gangster "Big Spender" Cheung Chi Keung, and released after a reported ransom of HK$1 billion was paid.
Li currently holds the following positions:
* Deputy Chairman and Managing Director of
* Chairman of Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings Limited
* Chairman of CK Life Sciences Int'l., Inc.
* Deputy Chairman of Hutchison Whampoa Limited
* Executive Director of Hongkong Electric Holdings Limited
* Co-Chairman of Husky Energy Inc.
* Director of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited
Victor Li serves as a member of the Standing Committee of the 10th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference of the People's Republic of China. He is also a member of the Executive Committtee of the Commission on Strategic Development of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
Li immigrated to Canada and spent time with investment bank , a company later acquired by CIBC . He is the Co-Chairman of Canadian-based Husky Energy.
Early Years
Born in Hong Kong, he holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering and a Master of Science degree in Structural Engineering from Stanford.
Victor Li was kidnapped in 1996 by notorious gangster "Big Spender" Cheung Chi Keung, and released after a reported ransom of HK$1 billion was paid.
Business career
Li currently holds the following positions:
* Deputy Chairman and Managing Director of
* Chairman of Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings Limited
* Chairman of CK Life Sciences Int'l., Inc.
* Deputy Chairman of Hutchison Whampoa Limited
* Executive Director of Hongkong Electric Holdings Limited
* Co-Chairman of Husky Energy Inc.
* Director of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited
Other Positions
Victor Li serves as a member of the Standing Committee of the 10th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference of the People's Republic of China. He is also a member of the Executive Committtee of the Commission on Strategic Development of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
Canadian Connection
Li immigrated to Canada and spent time with investment bank , a company later acquired by CIBC . He is the Co-Chairman of Canadian-based Husky Energy.
Thomas Chang
Thomas M.S. Chang, is a physician and scientist.
In 1957, while an undergraduate at McGill University he invented the world's first artificial cell. Working with improvised materials like perfume atomizers inside his dorm room turned laboratory, Chang managed to create a permeable plastic sack that would effectively carry almost as effectively as a natural . He went on to complete his , , and degrees at McGill. Chang's career continued as Director of the Artificial Cells and Organs Research Centre and Professor of Physiology, Medicine & Biomedical Engineering in the at McGill University.
In the late sixties he discovered enzymes carried by artificial cells could correct some metabolic disorders and also developed charcoal-filled cells to treat drug poisoning. His work on finding a safe blood substitute brought him to prominence in the 1980s and 1990s, earning him an Order of Canada.
In 1957, while an undergraduate at McGill University he invented the world's first artificial cell. Working with improvised materials like perfume atomizers inside his dorm room turned laboratory, Chang managed to create a permeable plastic sack that would effectively carry almost as effectively as a natural . He went on to complete his , , and degrees at McGill. Chang's career continued as Director of the Artificial Cells and Organs Research Centre and Professor of Physiology, Medicine & Biomedical Engineering in the at McGill University.
In the late sixties he discovered enzymes carried by artificial cells could correct some metabolic disorders and also developed charcoal-filled cells to treat drug poisoning. His work on finding a safe blood substitute brought him to prominence in the 1980s and 1990s, earning him an Order of Canada.
Tang Choon Keng
Tang Choon Keng was a Singaporean entrepreneur, who founded Tangs department store in Singapore. He was popularly known as CK Tang. Tang has been credited for leading the way for the retail market in Singapore and establishing Orchard Road as a premier retail district in Singapore.
A , Tang was born at the turn of the 20th century in Shantou, China to a Presbyterian pastor. He emigrated to the British colony of Singapore in 1923.
In Singapore, Tang began as a door-to-door salesman peddling hand-made Swatow lace, embroidery and linen products. With a hired rickshaw, Tang carried his goods in a pair of tin s which remained in his possession as a reminder of his humble beginnings. Tang later became known as the "Tin Trunk Man" and the "Curio King" for his rags to riches legacy.
In 1932, Tang was able to embark on a larger venture, having accumulated sufficient funds through hard work. He established a department store in 1932 with an initial of 3,000. Tang set up his first shop on the first floor of a building on River Valley Road, selling craft products from China.
Subsequently in 1940, Tang financed the construction of a new building at the corner of and River Valley Road to house a new department store. He called the new edifice ''Gainurn Building'', a variation of his father's name Tang Gan Urn. The department store sold a vast array of merchandise. By the 1950s, CK Tang had opened several more branches.
In 1958, Tang bought a 1,351-square metre piece of land at the corner of Orchard Road and Scotts Road at a cost of S$10,000 to further his vision of expanding his business. Although the site faced the Tai San Ting Cemetery, he felt that it had commercial value as many British housewives in the Tanglin area could stop by on their way to the . The decision was made against the advice of fellow businessmen who thought Orchard Road was unfashionable then. Years later, when the Singapore Government designated and developed Orchard Road as a prime shopping and tourist district, the price of land soared from S$3 per m? to S$6,000 per m?.
With the acquired land plot, Tang constructed the landmark C.K. Tang Department Store at 310 Orchard Road at a cost of S$50,000. The building's green-tiled roof and facade was modelled after the Imperial Palace of the Forbidden City in Beijing. In 1960, Tang voluntarily closed the store due to problems with the trade unions, but Tangs was re-opened the following year. In 1975, Tang's company was .
In the late 1970s, Tang expanded his business again when he decided to develop the neighbouring property lots which he had bought years before. In 1982, the building on Orchard Road was demolished to make way for the new Tang complex, comprising the 33-storey deluxe Dynasty Hotel and the Tangs shopping complex . The shopping complex consists of five floors of retail space covering more than 15,000 m?, under the slogan "All The Best Under One Roof".
In 1991, Tangs opened its first overseas branch in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Tang also collaborated with Malaysia's Mayang Sari Bhd to develop real estate, hotels and commercial properties in Kuala Lumpur. He also assisted the Dairy Farm International Holdings in its retail business in Malaysia.
Until 1996, Tangs was the only major shopping centre in Singapore to not operate on Sundays, in deference to Tang's Christian faith. Tang instituted the policy so that his family and Christian staff could attend church on Sundays. As a staunch Christian, Tang spoke of honesty and hard work as his guiding principles.
Tang's distinctive management philosophy was the focus on people, both customers and staff. Emphasis was given to quality of the staff, reasonable pricing and warm . Tang believed in investing in his staff, as his frontline staff would be the ones who would be in direct contact with the customers and he believed that the of the store depended on them. As a result, Tang reserved a substantial annual budget for staff training, which included tailored programs for sales staff, supervisors and management. Supervisors and managers were expected to undergo a minimum 100 hours of training. Tang also made an effort to get in touch with his staff at all levels, in order understand his customers' expectations on product and service quality. Despite the company's poor financial results in certain years, Tangs retained its reputation for good service and reliability.
Tang retired in 1987, handing the reins of corporate leadership to the second of his three sons, Tang Wee Sung. However, Tang retained the post of company president and was rarely out of touch with company business, personally checking the company's accounts and meeting suppliers.
Besides CK Tang, Tang Choon Keng was also known as Tang Un Tien.
In 1960, Tang was kidnapped by four armed thugs, but was freed unharmed within 84 hours after the family reportedly paid S$150,000 in ransom.
Tang's first wife passed away in 1980; he subsequently remarried. Tang had eight children. On September 3 2000, Tang died peacefully at home with his family around him at the age of 99.
Tang died on 3 September, 2000 in Singapore.
Early life
A , Tang was born at the turn of the 20th century in Shantou, China to a Presbyterian pastor. He emigrated to the British colony of Singapore in 1923.
In Singapore, Tang began as a door-to-door salesman peddling hand-made Swatow lace, embroidery and linen products. With a hired rickshaw, Tang carried his goods in a pair of tin s which remained in his possession as a reminder of his humble beginnings. Tang later became known as the "Tin Trunk Man" and the "Curio King" for his rags to riches legacy.
Establishment of Tangs
In 1932, Tang was able to embark on a larger venture, having accumulated sufficient funds through hard work. He established a department store in 1932 with an initial of 3,000. Tang set up his first shop on the first floor of a building on River Valley Road, selling craft products from China.
Subsequently in 1940, Tang financed the construction of a new building at the corner of and River Valley Road to house a new department store. He called the new edifice ''Gainurn Building'', a variation of his father's name Tang Gan Urn. The department store sold a vast array of merchandise. By the 1950s, CK Tang had opened several more branches.
In 1958, Tang bought a 1,351-square metre piece of land at the corner of Orchard Road and Scotts Road at a cost of S$10,000 to further his vision of expanding his business. Although the site faced the Tai San Ting Cemetery, he felt that it had commercial value as many British housewives in the Tanglin area could stop by on their way to the . The decision was made against the advice of fellow businessmen who thought Orchard Road was unfashionable then. Years later, when the Singapore Government designated and developed Orchard Road as a prime shopping and tourist district, the price of land soared from S$3 per m? to S$6,000 per m?.
With the acquired land plot, Tang constructed the landmark C.K. Tang Department Store at 310 Orchard Road at a cost of S$50,000. The building's green-tiled roof and facade was modelled after the Imperial Palace of the Forbidden City in Beijing. In 1960, Tang voluntarily closed the store due to problems with the trade unions, but Tangs was re-opened the following year. In 1975, Tang's company was .
In the late 1970s, Tang expanded his business again when he decided to develop the neighbouring property lots which he had bought years before. In 1982, the building on Orchard Road was demolished to make way for the new Tang complex, comprising the 33-storey deluxe Dynasty Hotel and the Tangs shopping complex . The shopping complex consists of five floors of retail space covering more than 15,000 m?, under the slogan "All The Best Under One Roof".
In 1991, Tangs opened its first overseas branch in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Tang also collaborated with Malaysia's Mayang Sari Bhd to develop real estate, hotels and commercial properties in Kuala Lumpur. He also assisted the Dairy Farm International Holdings in its retail business in Malaysia.
Until 1996, Tangs was the only major shopping centre in Singapore to not operate on Sundays, in deference to Tang's Christian faith. Tang instituted the policy so that his family and Christian staff could attend church on Sundays. As a staunch Christian, Tang spoke of honesty and hard work as his guiding principles.
Tang's distinctive management philosophy was the focus on people, both customers and staff. Emphasis was given to quality of the staff, reasonable pricing and warm . Tang believed in investing in his staff, as his frontline staff would be the ones who would be in direct contact with the customers and he believed that the of the store depended on them. As a result, Tang reserved a substantial annual budget for staff training, which included tailored programs for sales staff, supervisors and management. Supervisors and managers were expected to undergo a minimum 100 hours of training. Tang also made an effort to get in touch with his staff at all levels, in order understand his customers' expectations on product and service quality. Despite the company's poor financial results in certain years, Tangs retained its reputation for good service and reliability.
Tang retired in 1987, handing the reins of corporate leadership to the second of his three sons, Tang Wee Sung. However, Tang retained the post of company president and was rarely out of touch with company business, personally checking the company's accounts and meeting suppliers.
Personal life
Besides CK Tang, Tang Choon Keng was also known as Tang Un Tien.
In 1960, Tang was kidnapped by four armed thugs, but was freed unharmed within 84 hours after the family reportedly paid S$150,000 in ransom.
Tang's first wife passed away in 1980; he subsequently remarried. Tang had eight children. On September 3 2000, Tang died peacefully at home with his family around him at the age of 99.
Death
Tang died on 3 September, 2000 in Singapore.
Tan Soo Khoon
Tan Soo Khoon , is a former of the Parliament of Singapore, and a member of the current ruling party, the People's Action Party. He was first elected in 1976, and stepped down in April 2006 as the PAP began fielding new candidates for the nation's . Then 27, he is the youngest person ever to be elected to the Parliament of Singapore. He and former Goh Chok Tong were elected to public office at the same time.
Tan served 7 terms as an MP. He held the Office of Deputy Speaker from 1985 to 1989, and was the Speaker of Parliament from 1989 to 2002. He is married and has two daughters.
The former-Speaker was born and raised in a middle-class family, where he attended the prestigious Anglo-Chinese School from Primary 1 through pre-University. He graduated in 1971 from the former University of Singapore with an honors undergraduate degree in Business Administration. His maternal grandfather is Lee Wee Nam, born 1880, who is one of the most prominent Chinese-Teochew figures in Singapore history, and founder of Lee Hiok Kee Pte Ltd.
In 1969, Tan served as the general secretary of the university students' union. In 1972, he began assisting in Kuo Chuan constituency, where he learned about the needs of the working-class of Singapore society. It is his strong desire for social equality and improving the lives of the less fortunate that has made his Parliamentary speeches well-known amongst his fellow MPs. Tan took a 13-year break from speech-making when he became Speaker. He is remembered for his fairness to both sides of the floor of the House, allowing members of both the ruling party and the opposition to speak their minds. He is also remembered for his sense of humor, for his notes to fellow MPs would be signed off "The Watchman", a take on his private business, and his role as Speaker.
During his stint as the Speaker, he was also President of the AIPO for the 1989-1990, 1994-1995 and 1999-2000 sessions. He also twice served ''ex officio'' as acting president when the and Deputy Prime Minister were both out of the country on official business.
Tan also supervised the building of the new Parliament House, heading the Committee on the Parliament Complex Development Project. The new building was completed in 1999, and a ceremony was conducted to officiate the "move" from the old Parliament House near the Supreme Court to the new one along the Singapore River.
In April 2002, when he stepped down as Speaker after 13 years, Tan immediately made it known that as a backbencher, with his brutal honesty and openness, he could still "shake the House". Many of his speeches provided witty, pointed, even scathing, remarks about certain government policies and expenditures, such as the extravagance of certain public buildings and the rising cost of public transportation.
In a tribute by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on April 15th 2006, he said of Tan, "He makes very good speeches in Parliament. Sometimes, he draws blood... Sometimes he has offended ministers, but he has spoken his mind."
Having retired from politics, he aims to devote more of his time to his business, his family and friends. Most of all, he will be spending more time with his band, a group of schoolmates from ACS and university, known as The Young Once, which has been a regular appearance on charity events, since they formed in the late 1990s, while Tan was still Speaker of Parliament.
Tan served 7 terms as an MP. He held the Office of Deputy Speaker from 1985 to 1989, and was the Speaker of Parliament from 1989 to 2002. He is married and has two daughters.
Early life and education
The former-Speaker was born and raised in a middle-class family, where he attended the prestigious Anglo-Chinese School from Primary 1 through pre-University. He graduated in 1971 from the former University of Singapore with an honors undergraduate degree in Business Administration. His maternal grandfather is Lee Wee Nam, born 1880, who is one of the most prominent Chinese-Teochew figures in Singapore history, and founder of Lee Hiok Kee Pte Ltd.
Political career
In 1969, Tan served as the general secretary of the university students' union. In 1972, he began assisting in Kuo Chuan constituency, where he learned about the needs of the working-class of Singapore society. It is his strong desire for social equality and improving the lives of the less fortunate that has made his Parliamentary speeches well-known amongst his fellow MPs. Tan took a 13-year break from speech-making when he became Speaker. He is remembered for his fairness to both sides of the floor of the House, allowing members of both the ruling party and the opposition to speak their minds. He is also remembered for his sense of humor, for his notes to fellow MPs would be signed off "The Watchman", a take on his private business, and his role as Speaker.
During his stint as the Speaker, he was also President of the AIPO for the 1989-1990, 1994-1995 and 1999-2000 sessions. He also twice served ''ex officio'' as acting president when the and Deputy Prime Minister were both out of the country on official business.
Tan also supervised the building of the new Parliament House, heading the Committee on the Parliament Complex Development Project. The new building was completed in 1999, and a ceremony was conducted to officiate the "move" from the old Parliament House near the Supreme Court to the new one along the Singapore River.
Backbenching
In April 2002, when he stepped down as Speaker after 13 years, Tan immediately made it known that as a backbencher, with his brutal honesty and openness, he could still "shake the House". Many of his speeches provided witty, pointed, even scathing, remarks about certain government policies and expenditures, such as the extravagance of certain public buildings and the rising cost of public transportation.
In a tribute by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on April 15th 2006, he said of Tan, "He makes very good speeches in Parliament. Sometimes, he draws blood... Sometimes he has offended ministers, but he has spoken his mind."
Having retired from politics, he aims to devote more of his time to his business, his family and friends. Most of all, he will be spending more time with his band, a group of schoolmates from ACS and university, known as The Young Once, which has been a regular appearance on charity events, since they formed in the late 1990s, while Tan was still Speaker of Parliament.
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