Ma Sik-yu

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.

Ma Sik-yu
Born
Chiu Chow, Guangdong, China
Died1998
Taiwan
CitizenshipBritish Hong Kong
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese馬惜如
Simplified Chinese马惜如

Biography

Ma Sik-yu and his younger brother Ma Sik-chun came from Chiu Chow, Guangdong. They eventually relocated to Hong Kong.[1]

The Ma brothers became associates of Ng Shek-ho, a major drug trafficker in Hong Kong.[2] Ma Sik-yu was nicknamed "White Powder Ma".[3][4][5] It was alleged that the Ma brothers began trafficking heroin from 1967 onward.[6] They were able to procure heroin by having Ma Sik-yu personally traveled to the Golden Triangle in Burma,[6] 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.[6][7][8]

The brothers founded the Oriental Daily News in 1969.[2]

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.[2] 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.[1][3][4]

He died in Taiwan in 1998.[2]

Legacy

Oriental Daily News was run by Ma Sik-chun's son Ricky Ma Ching-fat.[9]

In 2010, Oriental Press sued the companies behind five websites, including Wikipedia, for publishing allegedly defamatory statements.[10] The complaints were mainly about the drug trafficking history of its founder, the Ma brothers, found on the Chinese Wikipedia. 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 Wikipedia.[11]

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.
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