Employees have dinner one person per table on Wednesday at the Midea refrigerator company in Hefei, capital of East China's Anhui Province. The move is aimed to prevent COVID-19 infection as more than 95 percent of the company's employees have come back to work. Photo: cnsphoto

He Xiangjian, founder of Chinese home appliance giant Midea Group, was reportedly held hostage on Sunday night by a group of suspects now in police custody. Police issued a statement on Monday in reference to the incident, saying the victim, surnamed He, was safe.

Foshan Municipal Public Security Bureau in South China's Guangdong Province said in the statement that a group of people invaded a house in appliance manufacturer Midea's residential community in Shunde, threatening the safety of people living inside.

"By 5 am on Monday, police had arrested five criminal suspects. The victim, surnamed He, is safe," the statement continued, without specifically naming the victim as Midea's founder.

On Sunday night, it circulated on Chinese social media platform Sina Weibo that Midea's founder He Xiangjian was being held hostage. 

Midea expressed its gratitude to police on its official Sina Weibo account on Monday, indirectly confirming the truth of the incident.

Chinese technology media 36Kr reported that He's son, He Jianfeng, had swum across a river near their house to call the police, citing people with knowledge of the matter. The suspects were said to have carried with them explosive materials, according to the report.

Born in Shunde in 1942, He Xiangjian ranked 36th on the Forbes fortune list released in April 2020, with a net fortune of $21.6 billion. He is also the fourth richest person in the Chinese mainland.

He stepped down from as Midea Group's chairman in 2012 and is now president of Midea Holding Co.

Last time Midea was in the spotlight was in 2016, when the company took over German industrial robot maker Kuka for about $5 billion.

Trading of Midea Group shares on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange had dropped 2.23 percent by 11 am on Monday, falling to 58.64 yuan ($8.27).

Global Times