Update | Queenie Rosita Law kidnap suspect takes part in four-hour police reconstruction
Man accused of role in abducting heiress becomes main actor in four-hour public reconstruction
One of Hong Kong's highest- profile police crime reconstructions in recent years took place in the full media glare yesterday as investigations continued into the kidnap for ransom of Bossini clothing chain heiress Queenie Rosita Law.
Police carried out a carefully choreographed four-hour reconstruction, the main actor in which was a 29-year-old mainland man, surnamed Zheng, who was last night charged in connection with the alleged kidnap and who is expected to appear in Kwun Tong Court this morning.
Zheng was taken to Choi Hung MTR station, where police formed a cordon around him as they walked him to nearby locations.
The reconstruction then moved on to Clear Water Bay Road, across from Law's home which has been cordoned off by police as they try to piece together their investigation into an alleged crime that has captured the public imagination.
Zheng was the first person arrested since the alleged robbery and kidnapping of Law from her home in Clear Water Bay Road on April 25. She was released four days later after a HK$28 million ransom - which has not been recovered - was paid.
A police source said yesterday that Zheng was suspected of being responsible for taking food and drink to the victim and the other suspected abductors.
"He walked downhill from Fei Ngo Shan to Choi Hung where he bought food and drink and then he walked back uphill to their hideout," the source said. "We were told he bought bread and hamburgers for the victim."
According to Google Maps, it is about 3.7km from Choi Hung to a hillside near Pak Fa Lam where two empty suitcases suspected of having been used in the ransom exchange were found Wednesday. The source did not say how often the alleged deliveries were made.
Yesterday, the suspect was handcuffed and held on a tight metal chain leash by a police officer who kept his other hand on his shoulder.
Police kept media and the public well out of reach as they walked with him to various parts of Choi Hung. At one point, police cordoned off a number of shops inside the MTR station.
They took Zheng to exit B, where he was held before media and the public. The hooded suspect, wearing black shorts and a T-shirt, was assisted by an interpreter.
Two inspectors questioned him with the interpreter's aid, and the suspect was seen pointing to different locations around the MTR station. He appeared to be whispering as the officers leaned in close to him.
Police then took Zheng to the centre of the nearby market, to an area in front of a Baptist church and a number of restaurants.
The 29-year-old suspect was arrested at about 10.30pm on Sunday at the Lo Wu border checkpoint. He held a two-way permit, the travel document mainlanders use to visit Hong Kong. The suspect is understood to have come from Guizhou province.
He is one of two suspects identified by police. Photos of the two men were released last Wednesday as police made a public appeal for help to locate them. A huge manhunt has been underway since Law was released last Tuesday night.
Police say the six Putonghua-speaking men planned the break-in and kidnap, and suspect they dug a cave to hide out in Ma On Shan Country Park, where they held Law for three days.
Law, the granddaughter of late Bossini founder Law Ting-pong, was allegedly hidden in the secluded cave at Fei Ngo Shan, also known as Kowloon Peak, while the kidnappers called her father and demanded more than HK$40 million as payment for her release.
After negotiations, the sum was lowered to HK$28 million.
Police continued to search the area around Loi Tung Village, in Sha Tau Kok, after a woman there reported she had noticed strangers speaking Putonghua in her neighbourhood in recent months.
The investigation comes at a challenging time for the police force as they face a new era under new commissioner Stephen Lo Wai-chung following the retirement of former chief Andy Tsang Wai-hung.
