Beverage tycoon attacked, suspect arrested

Zong Qinghou, board chairman of China's beverage giant, the Hangzhou Wahaha Group Co, Ltd, delivers a speech during a forum in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang province, June 8, 2013. [Photo/Asianewsphoto]

HANGZHOU - Zong Qinghou, one of China's richest men, was attacked with a knife near his residence in Hangzhou on Friday, and local police confirmed on Wednesday that they have arrested a suspect.

Zong, board chairman of China's beverage giant Hangzhou Wahaha Group Co, Ltd, had his hand hurt in the incident on Friday morning in a residential quarter in Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang province, according to the police.

Zong was instantly sent to the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, where he was treated. Police said Zong sustained injuries to tendons in two fingers of his left hand.

The suspect, a 49-year-old man surnamed Yang, was captured around 3 pm on Friday.

Police said Yang, a resident of Suzhou city in neighboring Jiangsu province, came to Hangzhou earlier this year, hoping to find a job there.

After his failure in this regard, Yang hoped to seek a job in Zong's company, according to the police.

On Friday, Yang came to the residential quarter where Zong lives and met him. After being declined a job opportunity, Yang committed the attack, police said.

Zong told Xinhua that he suffered only minor injuries and was now recovering well.

Zong, 67, is the second-richest man in China with a personal fortune of 115 billion yuan ($18.68 billion), according to the Hurun Rich List released last Wednesday in Beijing.

The Wahaha Group started from a humble factory affiliated to a primary school in 1987 and grew into one of the top 500 private enterprises in China.

As the largest beverage enterprise in China, the group's revenue in 2012 reached 63.63 billion yuan. It has 66 production bases and 170 subsidiaries across China and employs nearly 30,000 people.

Sources with the Wahaha Group said the company's business had not been affected, while Zong had already resumed work after the attack.

Further investigation is under way.