Top Macau Casino Tycoon Bludgeoned With Sticks, Hammer

(UPI) - A top casino magnate was bludgeoned by six men in his own casino in Macau, China, an attack police say is reminiscent of Macau's violent history.

Casino hotel investor Ng Man-sun was dining in the restaurant of the New Century Hotel Saturday with a female guest when six men rushed in and beat them with hammers and sticks. The New York Times reported Ng's legs and arms were badly injured; however, the assailants avoided striking him in the head.

Both were treated at an area hospital. The woman suffered minor injuries and was released Saturday while Ng remains in treatment.

The Times says the attack harkens back to Macau's violent past during its time as a Portuguese colony. The region's economy is predominately fueled by gambling, and prior to the arrival of Las Vegas developers, the late 1990s were rife with gang warfare.

Such violence was so common that a police official once tried to assure tourists that Macau had "professional killers who don't miss their targets."

Saturday's attack is the most high-profile of its kind since that bloody period, the Times reported.

Ng is known to have been in a rather public rivalry with Wan Kuok-koi, one of Macau's biggest gangsters also known as Broken Tooth. Wan told Time magazine in 1998 he planned to "wipe him out," referring to Ng.

Wan was arrested in 1998 and convicted on charges of gang affiliation, money laundering and loan sharking, as well as other charges.