The murder of a triad leader who was run over and chopped to death outside a five-star hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui was carried out by a rival gang in revenge for an injury and loss of face the dead man caused in a bar three years earlier, the Court of First Instance heard yesterday.
Prosecutors said Leung Kwok-chung - a senior member of the Tai Kok Tsui faction of the Wo Shing Wo triad group nicknamed 'Tattooed Chung' - was behind the killing of Lee Tai-lung.
Leung's grudge stemmed from a bar fight involving dozens of triads in which Lee, a senior member of the rival Sun Yee On, smashed a bottle of whisky into his head on July 23, 2006.
The fight started when Lee's 'little brother', Man Pui-ying, was attacked in the 80's Style Lounge in Prat Avenue, after shouting at a bar girl.
The ensuing fight left Leung with a 'disfiguring' scar down the right side of his face and throat, prosecutor Charlotte Draycott SC told the court.
'He was scarred and humiliated and so a grudge was born,' Draycott said. 'He had the resources to take revenge and it seems men like these do not forget an injury or hurt pride.'