Cheung Tze-keung ((1955-04-07)7 April 1955 – (1998-12-05)5 December 1998) was a notorious Hong Kong gangster also known as "Big Spender" (Chinese: 大富豪; pinyin: dà fùháo; Jyutping: daai6 fu3 hou4).
Cheung created a self-image for himself of a "likeable rogue with a heart of gold," and gave his friends and strangers gifts funded from a crime spree that brought in at least HK$2 billion.
[8] However, he was acquitted and released after appeal in June 1995 when the judge ruled there was no case against Cheung as the evidence was filled with too many inconsistencies[3] and the security guard who initially identified him recanted his testimony.
[12][2] Cheung fled to China in January 1998 after failing to kidnap Chief Secretary for Administration Anson Chan, in retaliation for the jailing of his associate, Yip Kai-foon.
Acting on a tip-off, the police discovered 818 kg of explosives in Sheung Shui, a part of Hong Kong, in January 1998 which they attributed to a plan by Cheung to bomb government buildings.
[3] Cheung allegedly acquired 960 kg of explosives in 1997 for $200,000 from a man in Macau, the stock was transported to Hong Kong and buried in a deserted container parking area.
[15] Cheung and his gang were tried in connection with a number of crimes including the kidnapping of two Hong Kong tycoons, who remained unnamed in the trial (some reports suggested one victim was Victor Li).
[16] However, the Chinese Government argued that though the crimes were carried out in Hong Kong, they had been planned in the mainland, so the PRC was entitled to exercise jurisdiction over the case.
[16] The failure of the victims to report the case to the Hong Kong Police had left them bereft of evidence to request the repatriation of Cheung.
who maintained that the Li and Kwok families could get their revenge on Cheung since a trial in the mainland could guarantee the death penalty, whereas capital punishment was not in force in Hong Kong.