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: IC

Foshan Municipal Public Security Bureau in South China's Guangdong Province has released details about five home intruders who attempted to hold hostage the founder of Midea Group, revealing the individuals in question were addicted to gambling and had spent several months planning their crime.

According to a statement issued by police, one of the five, a 35-year-old surnamed Li, is unemployed and has a gambling addiction. He had been an active gambler since the end of 2019 and devised a plan to kidnap the victim, surnamed He, to make quick money.

Li asked four others to join him, ranging in age from 27 to 37, according to the statement. The five agreed to share the spoils of the crime.

The statement said that after several months of planning, Li and an accomplice on Sunday night traveled by car and entered He's house, claiming they carried with them explosive materials. They then threatened those residing at the home and demanded a large sum of money.

The case is still under investigation, the statement read.

Midea Group's official Sina Weibo account forwarded the police statement and expressed heartfelt gratitude. "Thank you to the police, thank you to society and thanks fo rour beautiful and great era! Let's move on, love life. Our heart looks to the future and yearns for the best. Let's join hands to create a better future."

It was the second time Midea had expressed its appreciation for police since the incident. On Sunday night, it circulated on Sina Weibo that Midea's founder He Xiangjian was being held hostage in his house in Shunde, a city in Foshan.

The Global Times confirmed that the person involved was Midea Group founder He Xiangjian. A Midea employee in Foshan told the Global Times that the incident had shocked Guangdong's provincial police department, with even snipers being sent to the scene.

"He is a low-profile billionaire," the employee said of He.

Born in Shunde, Guangdong 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 the fourth richest person in the Chinese mainland.

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

Global Times