Gambling losses sparked kidnap, says website message

Kidnap suspect Wanzhe Gui

The kidnapping of a Chinese woman was carried out to make quick money after the alleged suspects gambled and lost at the casino, says an explanation posted on the internet.

Police are giving credence to the report by saying the letter, purporting to be from one of the people who abducted Qing [Kelly] Zhao in Howick this month, contains "a certain amount of truth".

Translated, the alleged kidnapper claims those responsible had lost a lot of money at the casino and were trying to get "some quick money".

"Since we have lost heavily at casino the only idea is to get quick money to reverse the [losses]."

The author said he was writing in response to reports on the website from people saying they could not understand why they had freed Mrs Zhao without a ransom.

"Now you understand? Everybody has a right to live. We are not going to abuse somebody else's right to live."

Two men have been arrested and charged in connection with the kidnapping inquiry and police are still seeking Changsong Li, 33, and Wanzhe Gui, 29.

The letter on the internet says the people involved knew the interior of Mrs Zhao's Bleakhouse Rd house through an associate identified as Gin Shan - which in English translates to Golden Mountain or Hill.

The letter claims they met Gin Shan in room 301 of the SkyCity Hotel and that he had met someone with a "tremendous amount of money".

"He said it guaranteed won't be any problem. I ask him how he could know that person's details and he said once upon a time he had done some renovation work for the victim's family and that family was super wealthy ... He guaranteed there were no problems and said all wealthy persons were cowards ...

"That prompt us to agree to the planned abduction."

The writer claims Gin Shan withdrew $600 from an ATM at Botany Town Centre to rent a property in Pt England where Mrs Zhao was allegedly held captive.

The letter says the men went to the Bleakhouse Rd address at midnight but decided to wait because the lights were still on in neighbouring houses.

They went back a couple of hours later, entered the house and took $2500 in cash.

The writer says they took Mrs Zhao and told her parents, who were visiting New Zealand, that they wanted a $1 million ransom.

The author claimed to be writing to the forum - a cyber meeting room where visitors offer opinions and hold discussions on topics - to explain the kidnappers' actions to the Chinese community.

The letter was posted on a Chinese website, Skykiwi.co.nz, on Friday.

A spokesman for Skykiwi.co.nz said the letter was posted by an unknown user. The website has 85,000 registered members.

The spokesman said the Chinese community had been outraged at the kidnapping and it had been a hot topic of discussion on the website.

Mrs Zhao was taken from her home at gunpoint by three men who broke in after cutting power to the house about 2am on March 7. Police say a fourth man waited outside.

The 42-year-old housewife was held captive for 20 hours before being dumped in Onehunga.

Acting Detective Senior Sergeant Neil Grimstone said police were investigating the letter.

He described the internet posting as "quite extraordinary. This is certainly an unusual twist that I have not encountered before. There appears to be a certain amount of truth in what has been written".

The writer claims Mrs Zhao was locked in a small room for about three hours before she was asked if she wanted any food.

"She said no but she was thirsty. Then we feed her with some water. Then she said she got some pain from her hands and we loosened the knot a little bit but never removed the blindfold from her eyes and I hope everyone understand the reason why we did not do that. I said to her, 'If you would be co-operative and not do anything to [alert the police] we won't hurt you'."

The kidnappers decided to release Mrs Zhao when they became aware police were involved in the case and realised they were not going to make "quick money".

They waited until dark before taking her from the Pt England house and driving to an industrial area of Onehunga.

They then went to Rotorua but one wanted to return to Auckland.

They had planned to hide in the South Island and had bought ferry tickets, it was claimed.

"[An associate] said it was too dangerous for us to stick together and that's why we separated.

"The following day [one of the alleged kidnappers] came and said he wanted to surrender."