A wealthy Chinese businessman told a jury today/Tuesday he was snatched from a golf course and kept in a cage by a gang who demanded a 15 million US dollars cryptocurrency ransom.
Dylan Huang, who is in his 30s, was playing golf with his PA and two other women at Brocket Hall in Hertfordshire when five men jumped out of a car and rushed at him.
One pointed a gun at him, he was hit in the face and eyes and forced into the back of the black Audi Q7, which left the scene at speed.
In a recorded interview with the police, Mr Huang who lives in Mill Hill, north London and Singapore, said he tried very hard to resist but was hit on the eyes and face.
He said: ‘They put me on the back seat of the car with somebody holding my head and the other holding my feet. They put a cover to my head . I couldn’t see anything.
‘In the car I tried to resist and tried to kick the door. I was told if I tried to do this again they would kill me with a knife straight away. They put me down in the space between the back seat and the front seat. They put their feet on my head and my body.’
Dylan Huang was on a championship course at Brocket Hall (pictured) in Hertfordshire when five men allegedly raced towards him and snatched him before bundling him into a car
Mr Huang was interviewed at home by the police the day after he was released. He wearing a purple silk robe and continually rubbed his eyes and face He said after an hour and a half the car stopped and he got the impression the men were changing the car number plates.
Speaking through a Mandarin interpreter, he said they drove for another two hours before he was taken to a house, led up spiral stairs to a room where he was placed in a cage. ‘I couldn’t stand up. My legs couldn’t stretch straight. My head was covered and they had already put handcuffs on my hands and legs.’
Prosecutor Russell Pyne said: ‘Mr Huang was taken to a property at Thursley near Guildford in Surrey, where was blindfolded and tape was put over his mouth. He was walked up some spiral stairs before being placed in a cage, where he could not stand up straight. He was given food, but was not allowed out to use the lavatory.
The prosecutor said the victim was asked about his means and how a ransom would be paid. ‘They wanted to be paid in 15 million US dollars in bit coin.
‘After several hours it seemed the kidnappers were getting angry. They started to hurt him – hitting his leg with some sort of object.’
But, the court heard, his 30-hour ordeal suddenly ended when he was driven off in a car and released in a remote area near the Silvermere Golf course in Cobham, Surrey, close to the junction of the M25 and A3 and he raised the alarm at a house at around 11pm on the night of Wednesday 25th October last year.
Mr Huang told the police that no ransom had been paid to the men either by himself or by any of his contacts.
The gang allegedly took their target to a property near Guildford in Surrey where he was blindfolded and tape put over his mouth. Pictured: Brocket Hall
Earlier Andrew Scott, the property manager at Brocket Hall, told the jury of 6 men and 6 women he was in a meeting with the managing director when he was alerted by a noise that sounded like somebody was being beaten up.
He said he saw 3 or 4 Asian people on top of a guy. ‘I saw handcuffs on his wrists. They dragged him across to a black car. He was very frightened. He was screaming.’
Mr Scott described the kidnappers as Asian, ‘very smart with trousers and white shirts. One was bald and the other three or four weren’t.’
He said the three women who had been with Mr Huang had sore eyes and a red face. ‘They had some sort of spray in their face. All 3 had sore eyes red face. Pepper spray had been mentioned,’ he said.
In a statement another member of staff, Sarah Reeves-Hart said she saw the victim on the floor. She said: ‘They were punching him in the torso. He was face up.
‘The three males had loose cotton masks covering a large chunk of their face.
‘The victim had been handcuffed. They dragged him to a parked car and bundled him in.’
One of the men alleged involved in the kidnap plot is on trial.
Tianfu Guo, a 35-year-old of no fixed address, denies conspiracy to kidnap on or before 24 October last year, conspiracy to blackmail and possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.
Tianfu Guo is aided in court by a Mandarin interpreter.
Mr Pyne told the jury six other suspects are: Liang Tang, Wen Ji Nan, Xianchao Chen, Yazhou Tao, Yuan Gui Jin and Hanzhi Jiang. ‘ They are not here. The police have not been able to arrest them . It is believed they are all back in China,’ he said.
Guo had been arrested in Chinatown in London an hour before the time of Mr Huang’s release. He had been driving an Audi Q5 car that the day before had been tracked on a ANPR camera travelling in convoy with the Audi Q7, that had false registration plates, close to Brocket Hall Golf Club.
The next day the Q5, a hire car with genuine registration plate, had been tracked to an area just off the A3 south of Guildford.
The police followed it into London, where Guo was arrested. He had more than £4,000 on him.
The police also found Chinese passports and identity cards belonging to others. There was a video camera in driver’s door pocket, an SD card and a small telescope.
Mr Pyne said on the SD card the police found evidence that Mr Guo was under surveillance.
He said: ‘He was being watched by members of kidnap group. Both at his home, following his car and watching him playing golf at Brocket Hall.’
In police interviews Guo said he had nothing to do with the kidnap.