Misplaced Pages

Ma Sik-yu (traditional Chinese: 馬惜如; simplified Chinese: 马惜如; pinyin: Mǎ Xī-rú; Jyutping: Maa5 Sik1-jyu4, died 1998) was a Hong Kong businessman and, along with his brother Ma Sik-chun, co-founder of the Oriental Daily News.

Biography

Ma Sik-yu and his younger brother Ma Sik-chun came from Chiu Chow, Guangdong. They eventually relocated to Hong Kong.

The Ma brothers became associates of Ng Shek-ho, a major drug trafficker in Hong Kong. Ma Sik-yu was nicknamed "White Powder Ma". It was alleged that the Ma brothers began trafficking heroin from 1967 onward. They were able to procure heroin by having Ma Sik-yu personally traveled to the Golden Triangle in Burma, along with forging a political alliance with Laos general Ouane Rattikone. Ma Sik-yu was also involved in the activities of Chiu Chow triads in Thailand.

The brothers founded the Oriental Daily News in 1969.

In 1977, warrants were issued for the arrest of the brothers for the importation of 700 tonnes of opium into Hong Kong between 1968 and 1974. Ma Sik-yu, after being tipped off about the police, escaped to Taiwan, where there was no extradition treaty with Hong Kong. His brother followed one year later.

He died in Taiwan in 1998.

Legacy

Oriental Daily News was run by Ma Sik-chun's son Ricky Ma Ching-fat.

In 2010, Oriental Press sued the companies behind five websites, including Misplaced Pages, for publishing allegedly defamatory statements. The complaints were mainly about the drug trafficking history of its founder, the Ma brothers, found on the Chinese Misplaced Pages. The Wikimedia Foundation, as a company registered in California, had ignored the court summons and was absent from the trial. The Oriental Press Group therefore received a favorable ruling on paper, including damage claim and an injunction order in August 2010. The articles remained on Chinese Misplaced Pages.

In popular culture

• Lee Rock : 1991 film, Character Big Brother Ma, portrayed by Chun Wong.
• Legend of the Brothers : 1991 film, Character Hoi, portrayed by Kent Cheng.
• The Prince of Temple Street : 1992 film, portrayed by Kent Cheng.

References

1. ^ Nip, Amy (2014-04-12). "35 years on, arrest warrant for alleged drug trafficker and newspaper founder Ma Sik-chun challenged". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 2020-05-18. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
2. ^ "ACAN in the 21st Century - A Continuing Challenge" (PDF). Narcotics Division, Security Bureau. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
3. ^ Gargan, Edward A. (1998-01-25). "Hong Kong Donor to Tories Now Wants $1.7 Million Returned". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2020-05-18. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
4. ^ Boggan, Steve (1998-01-20). "Tory Scandal: An Oriental family tale of drugs, corruption and exile". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2020-05-18. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
5. "Hague will hand back foreign money". BBC News. 1998-01-20. Archived from the original on 2020-05-18. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
6. ^ Pierre-Arnaud Chouvy (2010). Opium: Uncovering the Politics of the Poppy. Harvard University Press. pp. 66–67. ISBN 978-0-674-05134-8.
7. Martin Booth (1998). Opium: A History. St. Martin's Press. pp. 195–8. ISBN 978-0-312-18643-2.
8. Bertil Lintner (24 April 2019). Burma In Revolt: Opium And Insurgency Since 1948. Taylor & Francis. p. 251. ISBN 978-0-429-70058-3.
9. Zeng, Vivienne (2015-06-17). "Fugitive Hong Kong media mogul dies in Taiwan, aged 77". Hong Kong Free Press HKFP. Archived from the original on 2020-05-18. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
10. Man, Joyce (2010-08-19). "Oriental Press sues Web companies". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 2020-05-18. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
11. Lam, Oiwan (2011-05-28). "Hong Kong: Legal Harassment". Global Voices Advocacy. Archived from the original on 2020-05-18. Retrieved 2020-05-18.

• 1998 deaths
• Hong Kong newspaper people
• Hong Kong expatriates in Taiwan