Ng Sik-ho (, 1930 – September 8, 1991), also known as "Crippled Ho" or "Limpy Ho" () was a prominent Hong Kong

drug lord A drug lord, drug baron, kingpin or narcotrafficker is a high-ranking crime boss who controls a sizable network of people involved in the illegal drug trade. Such figures are often difficult to bring to justice, as they are normally not directly ...

and triad boss.

Biography

Ng, born in 1930, was of Teochew origin. Ng earned his nickname of "Crippled Ho" or "Limpy Ho" following a leg injury sustained in a street fight. He sneaked to

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

from

Mainland China "Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...

during the

Great Chinese Famine The Great Chinese Famine () was a period between 1959 and 1961 in the history of the People's Republic of China (PRC) characterized by widespread famine. Some scholars have also included the years 1958 or 1962. It is widely regarded as the dead ...

in the 1960s. From as early as 1967, Ng was involved in the

illicit trade Illicit trade is the production or distribution of a good or service that is considered illegal by a legislature. It includes trade that is strictly illegal in different jurisdictions, as well as trade that is illegal in some jurisdictions but legal ...

opium Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: ''Lachryma papaveris'') is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which i ...

and

morphine Morphine is a strong opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin in poppies (''Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as a analgesic, pain medication, and is also commonly used recreational drug, recreationally, or to make ...

. He was married to Cheng Yuet-ying (), who was also involved in the drug trade. Ng built a drug empire that, at the time of his arrest, was said to have covered

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

and

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Ng was arrested in 12 November 1974 on charges of smuggling 20 tonnes of opium and morphine from

and other countries into Hong Kong. Nicknamed "Mr. Big" by the media, Ng was convicted in May 1975 to 30 years of imprisonment, the longest sentence ever imposed by a Hong Kong court at that time. His wife was subsequently arrested and was convicted on 23 February to 16 years imprisonment and was fined 1 million yuan. Ng became a key witness in the case against

Ma Sik-chun Ma Sik-chun (, 1938 – 15 June 2015) was a Hong Kong businessman, media mogul and, along with his brother Ma Sik-yu, co-founder of the Oriental Daily News. Biography Ma Sik-chun and his older brother Ma Sik-yu came from Chiu Chow, Guangdong. The ...

, Ng's former associate who was facing charges of

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...

and

trafficking. Ng became a

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

while in jail. In April 1991, his sentenced was reduced by the

Governor of Hong Kong The governor of Hong Kong was the representative of the British Crown in Hong Kong from 1843 to 1997. In this capacity, the governor was president of the Executive Council and commander-in-chief of the British Forces Overseas Hong Kong. ...

by four and a half years, and was scheduled to be released at the end of the year. In July, Ng was diagnosed with terminal

liver cancer Liver cancer (also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy) is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary (starts in liver) or secondary (meaning cancer which has spread from elsewhere to th ...

, and it was estimated that he would live no more than 6 weeks. His sentence was then further reduced. On 14 August 1991, after serving 16 years in jail, Ng was released on medical grounds. He was moved to a guarded hospital cell to a ward at the Queen Mary Hospital. He died a few weeks later on September 8, 1991 at age 61. His wife was eventually released from prison in 1992.

Media portrayals

Ng Sik-ho's story has been adapted multiple times in

Hong Kong cinema The cinema of Hong Kong ( zh, t=香港電影) is one of the three major threads in the history of Chinese language cinema, alongside the cinema of China and the cinema of Taiwan. As a former British colony, Hong Kong had a greater degree of po ...

, and he served as a popular trope in Triad films. Fictional portrayals inspired by or involved Ng includes: * ''Zeoi Fu Kam Lung'' (1976), portrayed by

Lau Dan Danny Lau Dan (; born 13 January 1944) is a Hong Kong actor. Works Lau is known to portray good characters, but could play cunning and sly characters with ease (includes ''The Bund'' and ''Land of Wealth''). He is most noted for being the on ...

* ''Blowing in the Wind'' (1980), portrayed by

Lau Kong Lau Kong () is a Hong Kong actor who worked on the network TVB. Biography Little is known of Lau's private life, but he has been acting since 1976, when he first joined the now defunct network Commercial Television, he later joined RTV (now AT ...

* ''Hong Kong Criminal Archives - Black Money'' (1991), portrayed by Lam Lap Sam * '' To Be Number One'' (1991), portrayed by

Ray Lui Ray Lui Leung-wai ( vi, Lữ Lương Vỹ, born 22 December 1956) is a Hong Kong actor. Born in Chợ Lớn, Saigon, Vietnam, he traces his ancestry to Lianjiang, Guangdong. He is best known for his role as "Ting Lik" in the 1980 Hong Kong te ...

* ''Queen of Underworld'' (1991), portrayed by Ray Lui * ''

Lee Rock ''Lee Rock'' () is a 1991 Hong Kong crime film directed by Lawrence Ah Mon, and starring Andy Lau as the title character. The film chronicles the rise and fall of a corrupt police force that Lee Rock becomes a part of. The film was followed b ...

'' (1991), portrayed by Victor Hon * ''

Lee Rock II ''Lee Rock II'' is a 1991 Hong Kong crime drama film directed by Lawrence Ah Mon and starring Andy Lau, Sharla Cheung, Aaron Kwok and Chingmy Yau. The film is a direct sequel to ''Lee Rock'' released earlier in the same year, which is inspired b ...

'' (1991), portrayed by Victor Hon * ''

The Greed of Man ''The Greed of Man'' is a Hong Kong television series first broadcast on TVB Jade in 1992.Dianying.com.Dianying.com" ''The Greed of Man.'' Retrieved on 2009-08-11. The story, spanning three decades from the 1970s to the 1990s in Hong Kong and Ta ...

'' (1992), portrayed by Lau Kong * ''

The Prince of Temple Street ''The Prince of Temple Street'' is a 1992 Hong Kong crime drama film directed by Jeffrey Chiang and starring Andy Lau, Joey Wong, Deanie Ip and Ng Man-tat. Aside of portraying the titular protagonist in the film, Lau also briefly reprises his ...

'' (1992), portrayed by Lau Siu Ming * ''The H.K. Triad'' (1999), portrayed by

Sean Lau Sean Lau Ching-wan (born 16 February 1964) is a Hong Kong actor who has acted in both films and television series. He won Best Actor in the 2007 and 2015 Hong Kong Film Awards and in the 2000 and 2007 Golden Bauhinia Awards. Career Lau was born ...

* '' I Corrupt All Cops'' (2009), portrayed by

Alan Chui Chung-San Chui Chung-San (often known as Shu Zhong Xin, Hsu Zhong-Xin or Alan Hsu; 16 August 1952 – 2 November 2022) was a Hong Kong actor, director, choreographer, martial artist and stuntman. He was known for being an action director and stuntman. Ch ...

* ''Beauty In the South'' (2012), portrayed by Liu Can * ''

Chasing the Dragon "Chasing the dragon" (CTD) (), or "foily" in Australian English, refers to inhaling the vapor from a heated solution of a powdered psychoactive drug on a sheet of aluminum foil. The moving vapor is chased after with a tube (often rolled foil) ...

'' (2017), portrayed by

Donnie Yen Donnie Yen Chi-tan (; born 27 July 1963) is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, and action director. Yen is one of Hong Kong's top action stars. Yen is widely credited for bringing mixed martial arts (MMA) into the mainstream Asian cinema by cho ...

* '' Once Upon a Time in Hong Kong'' (2021), portrayed by

Tony Leung Ka-fai Tony Leung Ka-fai (; born 1 February 1958) is a Hong Kong actor who is a four-time winner of the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor. As he is often confused with actor Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Tony Leung Ka-fai is known as "Big Tony," while Tony Leu ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ng, Sik-ho 1930 births 1991 deaths Triad members Deaths from liver cancer Drug traffickers Chinese crime bosses Hong Kong crime bosses Hong Kong gangsters