Natives of impoverished Wengan have been linked to a string of high-profile crimes in Hong Kong, despite a 2009 crackdown
CANNIX YAU IN GUIZHOUcannix.yau@scmp.com
PUBLISHED : Monday, 09 November, 2015, 2:34am
UPDATED : Monday, 09 November, 2015, 2:32pm
Feng Kaiqin, mother of Liu Huaiqilin, who was charged with burglary in Hong Kong last month, at home in Wengan county, in Guizhou province. Photo: Simon Song
With its high-rise buildings, heavy traffic and shiny shopping malls, Wengan county centre in Guizhou province looks like any other nondescript small city in China.
The unsuspecting visitor would never guess it was once a notorious place for triad activity, an unlikely breeding ground for the so-called "Guizhou gangs" who eyed Hong Kong as a source of quick riches. In a sweeping crackdown on major gangs in 2009, after the infamous "6.28" Wengan riot involving 30,000 protesters in 2008, the county was thought to have been drained of its shady elements.
Then again, beneath the newfound façade of prosperity, there lurked a gambling culture and an attitude, said long-time residents, of young men who liked to think big with little interest in working hard.
The county, with a population of half a million and earning most of its income from minerals, is riddled with 500 mahjong parlours under the guise of "community centres" and an unknown number of underground gambling dens, according to a local rental car driver.
By contrast, in the county centre, investments in the billions of yuan were poured into its economic development zone and industrial park with many types of jobs on offer, from mining and trading to food processing. It was natural that about half of the young villagers would set their sights on the county centre for opportunities.
"When poor folk move to the county seat from their rural villages by themselves to search for better-paid jobs here, they easily fall prey to the vice of gambling because they like to seek solace and entertainment from it," the driver explained.
"When they're in debt, Hong Kong quickly becomes their target for getting rich quickly. They all think the streets in Hong Kong are paved with gold."
One villager in his 20s who chose to remain anonymous admitted he was approached many times by fellow townsmen to go to Hong Kong to have "fun", which he understood as "making money illegally". "I declined them many times because I preferred to have fun here. I never went to Hong Kong," he said, adding he took casual jobs when he needed money.
A man surnamed Huang, a member of the county's writers' association, said rural folk were easily approached by gangsters and enticed into committing crimes in Hong Kong or elsewhere. "Community centres are approved by the local government and people tend to refrain from betting with large sums of money. You can say that their existence is rather healthy and for recreational purposes only."
"But underground casinos and mahjong parlours have created a bigger problem because of the large sums of money involved and their negative influence on gamblers."
Huang said the bets placed on mahjong games ranged from several tens of yuan per game to several tens of thousands of yuan, which explained why youngsters could easily become debt-laden.
As the economic outlook darkened, Huang anticipated more crimes would happen in wealthy cities, especially Hong Kong, as more farmers sought out opportunities in big cities.
The county became a centre of attention for Hong Kong police following a string of arrests, including over the kidnapping of Bossini heiress Queenie Rosita Law in May this year and high-profile burglaries. The seven kidnapping suspects all came from Wengan county, as did Liu Huaiqilin who was charged with breaking into the house of HSBC Asia-Pacific chief executive Peter Wong Tung-shun on The Peak last month. Police believe Liu's three accomplices, still on the run, also came from Guizhou.
Liu's mother, Feng Kaiqin, said she had not known of her son's whereabouts until visited by the Post.
"I came across many clients who behaved like big spenders casually showering cash after coming back from Hong Kong. I could easily tell that they went to Hong Kong to commit crimes," the driver added. "After getting quick money in Hong Kong, these loosely-organised groups of people usually go back to gambling dens to squander money and try their luck."
However, many others, including restaurant owners and legal professionals, dismissed the idea of new "Guizhou gangs" surfacing.
Mr Liu, head of Yushan village, where Liu Huaiqilin was born, said he had not heard of the Peter Wong case, nor of new gangs after the clean-up in 2009. "There have indeed been some individuals who like to earn big money elsewhere. But I don't know if they went to Hong Kong or not," he said, believing the Guizhou people involved in recent cases were only "small gangs".
With average disposable income per capita last year of 17,698 yuan (HK$21,559) for county seat residents compared to 6,745 yuan for rural farmers, it was natural that half the poverty-stricken youngsters from villages would be lured to the centre for better jobs, the village head said.
Liu said young folk living in poor villages were lazy and uninterested in working full-time as there were not many jobs available there, and those that were usually paid around 2,000 to 3,000 yuan a month.
"About half the rural youngsters have moved out and been working in other cities because the money you earn in cities for two months amounts to an annual income of growing corn here. What's the point of staying in the rural villages?" he asked.
The village head added there were some individuals who liked to "think big" with no interest in earning money from working.
"Some youngsters don't bother earning a small income … They just aim to make big money fast," he said. "When they have money they go to casinos to gamble it away. It's a vicious cycle."
A woman called Wang, operating a motel in the village, also professed not to know of the rumours of new "Guizhou gangs". "This place is pretty safe actually," she said. "We always leave our doors unlocked at night."
However, the sister-in-law of You Dunkui, charged with being the ringleader in the Law kidnapping case, believed You was corrupted by bad elements after he moved to the county centre for work 10 years ago from his ancestral home in Zhuzang village.
She said the 38-year-old father of two did not appear to have money problems because he was able to fully pay 300,000 yuan for a 1,000 sq ft flat in the town centre.
A blast in January last year at a gambling den in Guizhou's Kaili city in which 15 people were killed could offer a glimpse of the situation in Wengan county, 165 km away from Kaili. The provincial government immediately launched a crackdown on gambling dens there, leading to the closure of 149 illegal operations. Local police believed the explosion was caused by people heavily in debt, who sought revenge, as the gambling den attracted 100 daily gamblers with a daily turnover reaching 10 million yuan.
However, a police source dismissed suggestions about the emergence of "Guizhou gangs" in the county, saying those who committed crimes in Hong Kong were just some loosely-organised groups of a few individuals who wanted to make quick riches.
Mainland media reports said some major gangs, including the county's biggest triad group, the "Yushan Gang" from Yushan village, were eradicated in 2009 after a change of county party leadership in 2008 prompted by that year's Wengan riot. Before the crackdown, armed robberies and street shootings used to be commonplace in the county.
On June 28, 2008, more than 30,000 angry citizens swarmed the county streets with rioters smashing government buildings and torching 40 police cars to protest against an alleged police cover-up of a girl's death and abuse of power of police and officials. The local government later concluded that use of force by local officials to resolve disputes over mines, home demolitions and the relocation of residents had contributed to the widespread discontent and conflicts.
A host of measures, including investment for infrastructure projects and compensation for home demolitions, were later implemented to pacify outrage.
"After the clean-up, there were no real triad groups in Wengan, which has become pretty safe now," a source close to local police said.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1876927/betting-hong-kong-guizhou-natives-nabbed-recent-city-crimes
