Ex-lover's 'HK$139m blackmail'
Bar manager threatened to kill the wife, daughter and business partner of wealthy married man 'Mr X' if he didn't pay her the money, court told
Patsy Moy
Aug 25, 2011        
       

A bar manager demanded payments totalling HK$139 million from her wealthy former lover and threatened to kill his wife, daughter and business partner if he didn't give her the money, the District Court was told yesterday.

Ki Chun-yim, 39, was with the man, identified only as Mr X to protect his identity, for about a year.

He rented a flat for her in Sham Shui Po and paid her HK$60,000 a month, the court heard. But testifying from behind a screen yesterday, Mr X, now 50, said after they split up, Ki told him she had hired private detectives to watch him.

This made him believe she would harm him, his family and his business partner, identified as Mr Y.

Mr X told the court: "She was able to specify what law firms or investment banks I had visited.

"She was also able to tell of conversations between me and Mr Y when we were in a massage parlour.

"She said to me something like, `You enjoy a happy family life while I am always alone and lonely. I will make sure your family will be destroyed.'" He added: "She asked me to buy coffins for my family members.

"She also said, `I will make sure your family members will die ahead of you. That will be the heaviest punishment on you.'

"It was out of extreme fear about her threat that I gave in and made payments to her."

Senior Public Prosecutor Virginia Lau Siu-yee told the court that Mr X made several payments to Ki totalling up to HK$10 million, but she kept approaching him for more.

Ki, represented by Lawrence Lok SC, pleaded not guilty to nine charges of blackmail, totalling HK$139 million, and one charge of perverting justice. The alleged offences took place between December 2007 and October 2009.

Prosecutor Lau said Mr X came to know Ki in a pub where she worked as a public relations manager in September 2006.

But the relationship turned sour and Mr X decided to part from her in August the following year. Mr X said they argued about money.

He said: "When I told her I did not have in my bank account the amount she wanted, she said she wanted my company stocks."

He added: "Once I stayed overnight in her place and there was a knife on the bed. She said she wanted to use it to kill me."

In March 2009, Ki threatened to hurt Mr X's wife and daughter. She also told him it would be no use calling the police as she was "prepared to spend her life in jail".

Ki made a report to police that month, but afterwards she threatened Mr X again, asking him not to give a witness statement to police, it was alleged. Ki was then arrested on December 10 last year. Lau alleged Ki made her first attempt at blackmail in December 2007 when Ki met Mr X outside her flat.

She asked for HK$2 million or she would kill his wife and their daughter. She also threatened to kill Mr Y.

Mr X later paid HK$1 million in the hope of settling the matter.

But Ki continued to go after Mr X, calling him and going to his office and his home, it was claimed.

He later paid her further payments of HK$4 million. On several occasions between April and 0ctober 2009, Ki asked for HK$120 million.

One afternoon in June 2009, Ki went to Mr X's office with a fruit knife and pointed it at him, Lau said.

Ki was remanded in custody. The hearing will continue today.

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Woman's death threats 'drove us to despair'
Businessman tells court that the intimidation he was subjected to after dumping his mistress wrecked his health and left his wife with severe depression
Patsy Moy
Aug 26, 2011        

A wealthy businessman and his wife saw their mental health deteriorate after a string of death threats and harassment from his dumped mistress, who attempted to blackmail them out of HK$139 million, a court heard yesterday.

Giving evidence for a second day, the businessman known only as Mr X, who had an affair with Ki Chun-yim, 39, said he had been thrown out of the family home by his wife in May 2008 and had still not been allowed back. "My wife asked me to leave our home, not because of my extramarital affair, but because of the threat to the lives and safety of both herself and our daughter," Mr X said.

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The intimidation was such that they had to move to another flat, hire guards, buy new cars and check the cars for surveillance gadgets left by Ki, the District Court was told.

The mental trauma since December 2007 had led Mr X to develop heart problems, and affected his mental health. He had once spent 12 days in hospital due to his illnesses. "My heart could no longer put up with her threats. I almost completely lost my working capacity. The damage still remains."

Mr X's wife also suffered from depression and severe anxiety, hitting herself and pulling her own hair, according to the husband.

On Wednesday, Ki, a public relations manager, pleaded not guilty to nine counts of blackmail involving HK$139 million, and one count of perverting the course of justice.

The husband yesterday accused police of taking the death threats lightly and refusing to classify his case as blackmail in the first two years after he reported it. "Police treated our case as a trivial matter. We felt completely helpless," Mr X told District Judge Kevin Browne.

"The defendant said she had our photos and warned that her accomplices would kill the people in the photos. The defendant also claimed she was not afraid of dying with us all together. She also claimed her accomplices would have back-up plans even after she had failed and was arrested. Our fear was like the fear of the US about the terrorist attack by [Osama] bin Laden."

According to Mr X, his business partner Mr Y had been kidnapped for a few hours by Ki and her two accomplices in Shenzhen in November last year. But Mr Y escaped and returned to Hong Kong, he said.

After the kidnap, Mr X, Mr Y and their two secretaries continued to receive a flood of death threats to their mobile phones by SMS.

Mr X said those messages showed the sender was clear about his whereabouts and those of his business partners Mr Y and Mr Z, as well as their secretaries and even their families.

Mr X also described himself as a "mental prisoner" of Ki from August 2007, when their 11-month affair ended, to June 2008. " She demanded I spend five days a week with her, at least five or six hours a day, either meeting her personally or talking with her over the phone."

Mr X said Ki then spent time in Canada. But she showed up again in late February 2009 to continue her threats by visiting his office along with a triad member to cause trouble. "We were shocked when we received a call from the defendant, who said she was back from Canada. The news was as shocking as if the sky was falling down.

"The defendant said she came back to collect what she deserved. She said it in very intimidating tones. She assured me of bloodshed to my family if I was not able to meet her request ... I had already paid her HK$4 million on the last occasion. But the amount she asked for on this occasion was an astronomical figure, which was HK$120 million

"Each time I made a payment was after my heart could no longer put up with the threats and was about to collapse," he said.

Mr X will be cross-examined today by defence counsel Lawrence Lok SC.

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Originally posted by jsmithj88 at 26-8-2011 14:45
that makes no sense
if u have that much cash u must be successful in business
dealing with a crazy chick shud be easy
he coulda hired a hitman for less
giving her millions makes no sense