As a bitter family feud over control of giant developer Sun Hung Kai Properties continues, extraordinary details have emerged about how the man at the center of the current corporate bust-up Walter Kwok Ping-sheung came to be released by gangster Cheung Tze-keung otherwise known as "Big Spender."

Ever since his kidnap in September 1997 rumors have persisted that Walter's younger brothers, Thomas and Raymond, were reluctant to pay the ransom.

But suggestions that a simmering row over the ransom payment is behind today's corporate fall- out which has seen Walter Kwok ousted from the chairmanship of Sun Hung Kai to be replaced by his 79-year-old mother will be dampened by the latest revelations.

Family insiders say rumors about reluctance to pay the ransom "hurt the family."

Gangster Cheung was caught and executed by firing squad in the mainland in 1998.

But this was only after he got away with the biggest ransom paid in Hong Kong criminal history.

Now, we can reveal how Kwok matriarch Kwong Siu-hing held a secret meeting with "Big Spender" in a luxury Central apartment as her eldest son languished, half-naked, in a wooden container box in a village house in the New Territories.

Walter Kwok was freed on October 5, 1997, after being held captive for seven days.

The family learned about Kwok's disappearance when younger brother Thomas Kwok Ping- kwong received a phone call on the night of September 29.

The caller identified himself as Cheung Tze-keung and said he had kidnapped Walter Kwok. Shellshocked Thomas Kwok called Walter's wife, Wendy Li Tin-wing, to check - and their worst fears were realized.

They followed Cheung's instructions and drove to Repulse Bay where they found Walter's empty car.

He had been taken hostage on his way home and was being held inside a village house in Ma On Kong, next to Tai Lam Tunnel in the New Territories.

At 10pm, Thomas Kwok received another call from Cheung, who instructed the family to meet him inside Dynasty Court on Old Peak Road, a property owned by SHKP.

Thomas Kwok, Wendy Li and a senior member of staff from SHKP met with Cheung, who appeared totally confident that his plan would work out.

The gangster showed them his identification card and proudly identified himself, according to the source.

Despite repeated requests from the family about the ransom, Cheung did not come up with a figure.

The crime boss beat around the bush the whole night and instructed the family to buy him supper. Wendy Li and the senior staffer were sent to a convenience store to get Cheung snacks and cup noodles.

This first meeting dragged on for hours until Cheung suddenly stood up and left the apartment without the parties coming to any deal.

Before he left he took a mobile phone belonging to the SHKP staffer.

At this point Thomas Kwok called his younger brother, Raymond Kwok Ping-luen, who was in Beijing. Raymond Kwok rushed back to Hong Kong to join the rescue effort.

The following morning, the crime boss called Thomas Kwok again and asked for US$10 million (HK$78 million) as a first payment, and then later demanding a further HK$50 million. He then changed his mind, saying he no longer wanted any money.

After Raymond Kwok returned to the city, the family told their elderly mother, Kwong Siu-hing.

As the days dragged on, Cheung taunted the family with varying demands, asking for cash, then even shares in SHKP, the source said.

In an attempt to reach a deal the family did a global search of previous ransoms and found that the biggest ransom paid was around HK$200 million. Based on this, they decided to offer triple the amount.

The elderly Kwong led Wendy Li and Raymond Kwok to meet Cheung at 6.30pm on October 2, 1997.

"Mrs Kwok offered HK$500 million and eventually a deal was reached to pay HK$600 million," the source said.

The family called a senior contact at the Hang Seng Bank to arrange the cash - a total of 600,000 HK$1,000 banknotes, which were packed inside 20 large red, white and blue carrier bags and driven to a quiet lane in Central in two Mercedes saloon cars, as instructed by Cheung. The crime boss and an accomplice arrived and drove away in the two Mercedes carrying the cash.

The family waited anxiously overnight until Kwong finally received a call from Walter Kwok the following day to say he was free.

Kwong arranged for her son to be picked up in the New Territories.

Today's family battle was triggered when Walter Kwok planned to give his friend Ida Tong Kam-hing a seat on the board in the company. Tong, who is five years his senior, is said to have started a close relationship with Walter Kwok after the kidnapping incident.

Cheung was Hong Kong's most wanted man for a number of years.

In October 1998 he stood trial in Guangzhou, facing a series of charges relating to "cross-boundary crime" including illegal possession, transporting and smuggling explosives and firearms, robbery and kidnapping. On December 16, 1998, he was convicted and executed in Guangzhou by a firing squad.