On December 5, 1998, Hong Kong's century-old thief King Cheung Chi-keung failed in his appeal, and the court decided to uphold the original verdict. He was subsequently executed next to the crematorium in Panyu, Guangdong, ending his legendary and criminal life.

On December 5, 1998, Hong Kong Thief King of the Century Zhang Ziqiang failed in his appeal, and the court decided to uphold the original verdict. He was subsequently executed next to the crematorium in Panyu, Guangdong, ending his legendary and sinful life.

Zhang Ziqiang once blackmailed Li Ka-shing 1.038 billion, and ran rampant in Hong Kong for eight years. He committed many major crimes. The amount involved was even collected by Guinness World Records. How was he caught? How many topics has it left for the world to talk about?

The major kidnapping case

In 1996, the bandit king Zhang Ziqiang and the golden thief Ye Jihuan cooperated to do something big together. This time they are not going to do something as simple and crude as robbery, but is going to kidnap the rich . There is a significant gap between the rich and the poor in Hong Kong. When Zhang Ziqiang was a child, he had a twisted sense of hatred for the rich. This hatred of the rich still affects him as an adult, so kidnapping became Zhang Ziqiang's next task. There is also a saying about

kidnapping. Those with small assets are not worth the risk. The top rich have strong security forces, so it is not easy to succeed. After careful consideration, the sons of the top wealthy people became the most ideal targets, and they could not be the kind of dispensable sons, but must be important figures such as heirs.

Soon Li Ka-shing’s son Li Zeju came into view. This is the most proud descendant of Li Ka-shing. He is the leader of the second generation of the Li family and the crown prince appointed by the Hutchison Whampoa Group. His status is very important. At the same time, Li Zeju had no troublesome ideas around him and was not very cautious in his daily travels, so he was the most suitable target.

After figuring out Li Zeju’s living habits in the early stage, Zhang Ziqiang was ready to take action immediately. But something unexpected happened at this time, disrupting the whole plan. In the preparation stage of , Zhang Ziqiang and others were hiding in Shenzhen and remotely controlling their younger brothers in Hong Kong. Once, Ye Jihuan was discovered by the police while sneaking into Hong Kong. The two sides exchanged fire and Ye Jihuan was arrested. This put the perfect plan into chaos.

Fortunately, Ye Jihuan told his men to follow Zhang Ziqiang's command before going to jail, so the kidnapping did not end in failure. After completing the preliminary preparations, in May 1996, Zhang Ziqiang and his accomplices drove two cars to intercept Li Zeju, openly kidnapped the young master at gunpoint, and left the driver alone to report the news.

After Li Ka-shing received the news, he resisted the urge to call the police and quietly waited for the kidnapper to call. The situation in the Hong Kong police force is very complicated. Li Ka-shing is afraid that the kidnappers will jump over the wall and directly vote against him. You must know that Li Zeju is the successor who Li Ka-shing has spent a lot of time training. No accidents are allowed to happen, and his family's money is enough for the kidnappers to open their mouths, so he decided to wait.

As expected, Zhang Ziqiang’s phone call soon came to Li Ka-shing’s house, requesting a meeting to discuss in detail. Li Ka-shing nodded in agreement. After a while, Zhang Ziqiang came to negotiate with a bomb tied to his waist and asked for 2 billion in old banknotes with non-consecutive numbers..

Since Li Ka-shing was willing to let the kidnappers come to his door, he was naturally sincere and called the bank directly to ask for cash. Bank did not have 2 billion in cash on hand, and could only spend 1 billion at most. Li Ka-shing himself made up for the 38 million he had raised, and turned to ask Zhang Ziqiang for his opinion.

More than one billion is already a lot. In order to avoid long nights and dreams, Zhang Ziqiang agreed to the deal. During this kidnapping transaction, Li Ka-shing's attitude made Zhang Ziqiang very satisfied. Not only did the other party not call the police, but he also gave the money very happily. So after getting the money, Zhang Ziqiang readily let him go and promised not to do anything to the Li family again.

Because Zhang Ziqiang contributed the most, he received .4 billion yuan and a fraction of 38 million yuan in benefits from this kidnapping. He was respected by everyone in the entire criminal gang and established his status. After a group of people divided the money and prepared to go their separate ways, Zhang Ziqiang tasted the sweetness and proposed to do more jobs. Many greedy men agreed to this proposal, so they began to prepare to continue committing crimes.What is the origin of this bold bandit king?

html The King of Thieves in the 7th Century

Zhang Ziqiang, whose ancestral home is Yulin, Guangxi, fled to Hong Kong from his father's generation and ran a herbal tea shop in Yau Ma Tei , struggling to make ends meet. Yau Ma Tei is a typical poor community, where three religions and nine streams gather, and all kinds of gray and even black businesses grow wildly. Zhang Ziqiang has been exposed to these since he was a child, and he inevitably got into bad habits and became complicit.

As he grew up, Zhang Ziqiang's academic performance was not good and he had no interest in learning. He was also keen on hanging out with gangsters all day long. "thief nature" was continuously cultivated at this stage.

Zhang Ziqiang's father is not well educated, and his only expectation for his son is to study hard and change his destiny. But seeing Zhang Ziqiang being so unsatisfactory, he could not help but use fists and kicks to educate him, which in turn encouraged Zhang Ziqiang's rebellious psychology.

In order to reassure his son, Zhang Ziqiang’s father sent him to a suit shop as an apprentice, hoping that he could learn a trade. However, Zhang Ziqiang did not follow his father's arrangements. Instead, he continued to hang out in the underworld and became a small boss by daring to fight. The price for this was that he entered the police station at the age of 12 and left a criminal record. In the following years, he committed numerous crimes and was detained many times.

At this time, Zhang Ziqiang was young, his wings were not yet full, and he was still in the stage of small-time gangsters. No one knew that in a few years he would become the most evil gangster king that would cause headaches to Hong Kong's big guys. During the years of wandering on the streets, Zhang Ziqiang met a very important person, that is his future wife Luo Yanfang.

Luo Yanfang was born in a middle-class family. Her parents were ordinary people who kept to themselves. She became a teacher after graduating from school. By chance, Zhang Ziqiang and Luo Yanfang got acquainted. A good girl had no ability to resist a bad boy, and the two quickly came together. Luo Yanfang will play a key role in Zhang Ziqiang's future journey to become the bandit king.

After getting married and having children, Zhang Ziqiang did not stabilize. Instead, he continued to act recklessly and advanced rapidly on the road of crime. Zhang Ziqiang is tired of collecting protection fees and forceful buying and selling. This kind of small business cannot make big money at all. He wants to come to Bo, do something earth-shattering, and attract the attention of the world.

The fastest ways to make money are all written in the criminal law, and these are all U-turn transactions. But Zhang Ziqiang has a ruthless spirit in his heart and does anything by any means. He needs a quick sum of money to improve his life. Just do what he said, Zhang Ziqiang entangled a group of younger brothers, purchased arms, made plans, and prepared to rob the cash transport truck .

Zhang Ziqiang set his target as the armored cash transport truck at Kai Tak Airport. After preliminary reconnaissance, he made multiple plans and quietly waited for the opportunity. On July 12, 1991, Zhang Ziqiang began to commit crimes. Due to adequate preparation and quick action, the robbers all wore balaclavas and left no evidence at the scene, so HK$160 million was successfully obtained. After the

case broke out, it attracted great attention from the police force. The main reason was that the amount involved was too large and it was the largest amount of banknotes lost since the opening of Hong Kong. Zhang Ziqiang had no problems during the criminal stage, but he ran into trouble during the money laundering process. The news was slightly leaked, allowing the police to get a handle. Therefore, the Hong Kong police charged Zhang Ziqiang with other crimes and wanted to use this as a breakthrough to convict him.

At this time, Zhang Ziqiang's wife Luo Yanfang jumped out. She held a press conference to guide the trend of public opinion and portray Zhang Ziqiang as a victim of violent police law enforcement..

At the same time, Luo Yanfang also spent a lot of money to hire top lawyers to defend Zhang Ziqiang. The police there did not have any key evidence of Zhang Ziqiang's crime. After several twists and turns, Zhang Ziqiang was miraculously acquitted. Not only did the criminal leader not go to jail, but he also received compensation from the police. This kind of operation is really surprising.

sounded the death knell

During this short prison life, Zhang Ziqiang accidentally met the golden thief Ye Jihuan. The other party once robbed seven gold shops in a row, and was later injured and arrested during a confrontation with the police. Zhang Ziqiang and Ye Jihuan admired each other and agreed to cooperate after they were released from prison. They would do something big together in the future. This is how a kidnapping gang that shocked Hong Kong was formed.

After winning the lawsuit, Zhang Ziqiang stayed honest for a few years, laundered the money obtained from the robbery, and lived a luxurious and luxurious life.

From rags to riches, Zhang Ziqiang inevitably spends lavishly, buying luxury cars and yachts, and going to Macau several times to gamble. He looks like he will not stop until he spends all the money. This is very eye-catching in the eyes of interested people, and he is therefore anxious. More money was needed to ensure this luxurious life, so the major case of kidnapping Li Ka-shing's son came up.

After the successful experience of kidnapping a rich man for the first time, Zhang Ziqiang and others became bolder. They set their next target on Hong Kong's second richest man Guo Bingxiang .

Using the same method, this group of people successfully kidnapped Guo Bingxiang, threatened his family, and also demanded 2 billion. Guo Bingxiang has a hot temper, is unwilling to accept blackmail, and refuses to speak. After several haggling, Guo Bingxiang’s family finally gave 600 million yuan in cash, and Zhang Ziqiang received another 300 million yuan.

There was only one year between the two kidnappings, so one can imagine Zhang Ziqiang’s arrogance. Now his notoriety has spread throughout Hong Kong's wealthy circles. Rich people, big and small, have tightened their security and are traveling more cautiously. Zhang Ziqiang couldn't get a chance to take action again for a while, so he simply suspended his actions and turned to enjoy life.

While gambling and having fun in Macau, Zhang Ziqiang had a conflict with the Macau gangster Bengyaju . The two of them refused to accept the other, and each took some violent actions to show off their skills. Later, Bengyaju, who was still a local snake, became more powerful and forced Zhang Ziqiang to apologize, and the relationship between the two was forged. When the aftermath disappeared, Zhang Ziqiang decided to take revenge on Beng Yaju. He planned to kidnap Stanley Ho, the financial backer behind Beng Yaju, and use this method to force Beng Yaju to admit his mistake.

Unfortunately, the news leaked during the preparation process. After all, Macau is not Zhang Ziqiang’s home court. He cannot be as free as he is in Hong Kong. The kidnapping ultimately ended in failure. was used to smooth sailing, but Zhang Ziqiang suddenly stumbled, which made him lose his mind and wanted to make something big happen so that others could see his power.

So on January 7, 1998, Zhang Ziqiang ordered his men to smuggle 800 kilograms of high explosives in order to create some major explosions. What Zhang Ziqiang did not expect was that the police in Guangdong and Hong Kong had already focused on him and wanted to eliminate his threat as soon as possible, so an arrest operation was launched in full swing, just waiting for Zhang Ziqiang to be trapped.

Coincidentally, the explosives smuggled by Zhang Ziqiang were accidentally discovered by Hong Kong police and arrested all of his accomplices. On the other side, Zhang Ziqiang and several cronies are secretly entering the country, and his every move is under police surveillance. When Zhang Ziqiang's car was driving on the Waihai Bridge in Jiangmen, the special police force was dispatched to arrest Zhang Ziqiang.

In fact, Zhang Ziqiang was very cautious. There was no obvious evidence to prove the facts of his crime before the police decided to arrest him, so the police gave priority to arresting Zhang Ziqiang's Ma Zai and his men to find a breakthrough from them. Sure enough, there are always weaklings in Zhang Ziqiang's criminal group. The confessions of these people explained the details of Zhang Ziqiang's crime, and the evidence for prosecuting Zhang Ziqiang was obtained.

At this time, Zhang Ziqiang was not ready to give up. On the one hand, he explained some trivial matters to delay time. On the other hand, he asked his wife Luo Yanfang to come forward and hire a barrister to exonerate him. At the same time, he once again used public opinion to play the sympathy card and called for Zhang Ziqiang to be sent to Hong Kong for trial in order to escape the mainland's death penalty regulations.

Unfortunately, Zhang Ziqiang miscalculated this time. The police took a very firm attitude and advocated severe crackdowns on his illegal and criminal activities. So Zhang Ziqiang and four other accomplices were sentenced to death. Zhang Ziqiang was unconvinced and applied for an appeal. However, the original verdict was upheld in the final trial. Zhang Ziqiang was subsequently executed, ending his magnificent life.

Three major mysteries

Although Zhang Ziqiang was wiped out under the sanctions of the law, his story still survives from word of mouth to people. Later, many police and gangster films drew on Zhang Ziqiang's story, and many scripts were even written based on him, which once set off a craze for police and gangster films in our country. As for his behavior during his lifetime, he also left three mysteries for future generations, causing people to speculate a lot.

The first mystery is how Zhang Ziqiang laundered money quickly and what is the organization behind it. You must know that Zhang Ziqiang’s gang has obtained billions of Hong Kong dollars in stolen money, and Zhang Ziqiang personally has hundreds of millions in cash. If they want to squander this money, they can't just suddenly appear on the market. Otherwise, it will become a clear evidence of crime in the eyes of the police, and they will not be able to spend much at all.

then contacted Zhang Ziqiang, who was originally just a small gangster. The reason why he has become so big and has been active for so long is almost impossible without strong backing or even a group organization behind him. But when he was arrested and interrogated, Zhang Ziqiang did not mention anything about this aspect. After his death, this "mysterious group" became a hot topic among the people.

The second mystery is where did Zhang Ziqiang’s money go? After suddenly receiving a huge sum of money, although Zhang Ziqiang spent extravagantly, he received almost 1 billion in cash, which was impossible to spend completely in a short period of time. Moreover, he purchased a lot of luxury cars and mansions during this process, but after his arrest, he did not have much of the stolen money left, which caused people to talk about it.

And on this point, his wife Luo Yanfang has the most say. After Zhang Ziqiang was arrested, her assets were frozen for a period of time, but the couple had already done property transfer and property notarization. Due to insufficient evidence, a large amount of money was eventually returned to the original owner.

In other words, most of the money Zhang Ziqiang earned went to Luo Yanfang. Later, when she immigrated to Thailand, the whereabouts of the money remained unknown. As for how much money Luo Yanfang saved, there are different opinions. It can only be said that it is definitely enough for her and her children to live a luxurious life for the rest of their lives.

The third mystery is what big thing Zhang Ziqiang is planning to do after buying so many explosives. Some people speculate that there is a conflict between Zhang Ziqiang and Beng Yaju, and these explosives were prepared for him, or they were used to regain his reputation in Macau. This speculation has enough basis. They have had conflicts before, and revenge is very possible.

Some people also speculate that Zhang Ziqiang is preparing to blow up the prison and rescue Ye Jihuan, who is imprisoned in an iron prison, in the hope of starting a bigger case together. But although the relationship between the two is strong, it is not strong enough to be willing to take such a big risk. Using explosives to rob a prison is too high-profile, and it is easy to lose yourself.

With the execution of Zhang Ziqiang, the relevant information no longer exists. It is now difficult to have real answers to these mysteries. However, the former "King of Thieves of the Century" still dared to commit crimes after Hong Kong returned to , and he was so rampant that he must be prepared to be wiped out under the iron fist of the state. This is the consequence of violating the laws of our country.

Conclusion

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong’s official return to the motherland. With the maturity of the one country, two systems system, Hong Kong's laws have also been continuously improved. Illegal and criminal acts will never be tolerated. Cases like Zhang Ziqiang will not happen again. The security of Hong Kong will become better, and the people of the two places will also We will be more closely connected and truly become a family!