(SCMP) Suspected hit man tells court he had never heard of alleged target By Joyce Man. June 30, 2009.

A man accused of being a gunman hired to shoot media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying and former Democratic Party chairman Martin Lee Chu-ming said he did not know who Mr Lai was and had never seen the photo of him found in his wallet. Huang Nanhua, 50, was answering questions put to him by prosecutor Peter Chapman yesterday in the Court of First Instance. "Do you often keep photos of strange men in your wallet?" Mr Chapman asked. Huang replied that the only photos he kept in his wallet were those of Mao Zedong , a certain Malaysian figure and his wife. He had not seen the photo of Mr Lai before and did not know who he was despite visiting Hong Kong regularly from Shenzhen. Mr Lai is publisher of the Chinese-language Apple Daily newspaper. Huang also denied having seen papers, found in his bag, that contained information about the men. Huang has pleaded not guilty to carrying a firearm with the intent to commit offences including shooting with intent and kidnapping. Police say they intercepted Huang at a roadblock in Dundas Street, Mong Kok, on August 14 and found a pistol with five bullets, information about Mr Lai and Mr Lee, and HK$20,000. Huang denied all knowledge of the gun in his bag. A friend, Ho Wai-kam, stuffed a package into his bag with instructions to deliver it to an "Ah Wai", who would call, Huang said, adding that Ho told him the contents were electronic parts. Ho has pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of possessing a firearm. Huang has accused police of forcing four statements out of him by covering his head with a bag, binding his hands, kicking and punching him, and forcing water into his mouth. When Mr Chapman asked why photos of his body showed only two marks on his chest, a scratch on his back and marks on his knee, Huang replied: "Maybe [the injuries] were not visible to the naked eye or did not appear right away." Huang also said that when he was taken to Queen Mary Hospital, officers told the doctor to leave out certain details of their examination, which is why they failed to mention marks on his body. The trial continues before Deputy Judge Peter Line.

(Apple Daily)

Huang Nanhua said that he took a package from Ho Wai-kam on August 13, last year. Afterwards, he went to North Point to purcahse Fujinese food for his aunt and therefore not "casing" out the office of Martin Lee. He said that on the next day, the Criminal Investigative Department and Organized Crime Unit detectives put a hood over him and then poured water into his mouth (note: there is no Chinese term for "water-boarding") and pulled his pubic hair out. He was forced to obey the orders to write out the provided answers in his statement. Huang said that he has never seen the paper slips with the addresses of Martin Lee's office and Jimmy Lai's home before. He also said that his wallet contains only a photo of Mao Zedong and a joint portrait with his wife.

(Ming Pao)

50-year-old Huang Nanhua said that he came to Hong Kong on August 13 to do some shopping. He met the other defendant Ho Wai-kam in the Tsuen Wan district. Ho said that he would repay his debt to Huang, but he actually borrowed 2,500 dollars. Ho also handed a bag of "electronic parts" to Huang and asked him to forward it to his friend "Ah Wai." Huang did not open the bag and therefore did not know that there was a gun inside. Huang then went to Star House in the Tsim Sha Tsui district to meet with two mainland friends. They suggested going to Macau, but Huang said that he was busy. He accompanied the two friends to take the Star Ferry to Central, whereupon the two friends took the ferry to Macau. Meanwhile, Huang took a cab to North Point. The prosecutor charged that Huang was "casing" out Legislative Councilor Martin Lee's office, but Huang said that he only wanted to buy "native Fujinese food" (such as salted noodles and white sugar cake at the Chawah Market. Huang said that he was hooded and beaten by the police many times after his arrest. On one occasion, he was stripped, had his pubic hair pulled out and water poured into his mouth. He asked to see a doctor, who was prevented by the police to make a record of his injuries. Huang also denied that he had a clipping about Jimmy Lai in his wallet. Huang said that he does not know Jimmy Lai, because "as a Chinese citizen, I have no right to know him."

(Oriental Daily)