Triad members jailed for kidnap

Five members of a Chinese Triad gang who kidnapped and tortured a chef in London were each jailed for 15 years yesterday and could be beheaded when deported to China. Their victim, 25-year-old Xiao Ming Cao, was chained to a radiator for almost two weeks while the mob tried to extract money from his peasant family in China. The gangsters beat him and held a phone to his mouth linked to his relatives in China, so they would hear his screams.

However, a joint operation between British and Chinese authorities meant the blackmail attempt was doomed. After raids on three addresses Mr Cao was found half-starving and chained up in a house in north London. Southwark Crown Court heard that when the gangsters are deported they face being beheaded in China. It was said other members of the gang at the Chinese end of the plot have already been executed.