(This
column was published in the North
Shore News on
Dec. 23,
1998)
A different picture of Premier Clark
By Leo Knight
THE
old adage says a picture is worth a thousand words. An
interesting concept when considering a certain little photograph
mentioned in this space a couple of weeks back.
A
quick review of search warrant and police court files gives the
background.
Kwok
Tam was arrested by the Vancouver Police gang squad following
the execution of a search warrant on Tam's palatial Burnaby home
while conducting an extortion investigation. The search yielded
a couple of semi-automatic handguns, ammunition, a silencer, a
half pound of raw opium, almost $80,000 in cash and assorted
other indications of a less than pure lifestyle.
But
along with the guns, drugs and assorted other evidence that have
led to charges Tam is currently facing, police also found a
photograph of Tam seated on a couch with our very own boy
premier, Glen "Ernie" Clark.
"Ernie,"
you'll recall, was the boy premier's nickname in the halcyon
days of his youth at Notre Dame high school before he
single-handedly drove our debt up to stratospheric levels and
our economy in the other direction. The photo leads to the
inevitable question: Does the premier of the province have a
relationship with an alleged gangster?
Tam
came here in the latter part of the '80s as a refugee claimant.
That claim is still in the refugee review process.
Police
have now alleged that Tam is a kingpin in the shadowy world of
Asian gangs. In fact, they have been quietly cheering the fact
they were finally able to get at a member of the hierarchy
instead of the usual collection of street thugs and soldiers in
the criminal armies of the triad world.
The
extortion case that led the police to Tam's house involved an
alleged loansharking matter in which a lieutenant of Tam's, Huo
Quin Zheng, loaned a woman $15,000 in a West Broadway casino.
According
to court documents, the woman, who police have asked not be
named publicly, lost her stake and was directed to Zheng, an
omnipresent figure in the casino.
According
to the police, Zheng was demanding interest payments of 10% a
week -- $1,500 just in interest!
The
court documents also show the woman lost her Mercedes as part
payment, and then in August, Zheng allegedly threatened her life
if she didn't sign over everything she owned in her house, again
as part payment.
According
to the court documents, when the police arrived, Zheng had a
moving van there and was busily loading up for the second time.
Evidently, the first load had been dropped off at Tam's house,
hence the search warrant.
The police claim Tam is a major player in the local illicit gambling scene.
Gambling,
you see, is the traditional cornerstone of the Asian organized
crime groups. They are constantly fighting for control of
certain casinos, territory, areas of influence and the like.
Which
brings me back to the photograph, which, after the search
warrant, found a place of honour on the squad desk at police
headquarters, a sort of a monument to the high levels in which
some of the more well-heeled crooks move.
On
the back of the photo, in Chinese handwriting, the inscription
indicated the picture was taken in the premier's private office.
Not
at a community fundraiser, mind you, or other such place where
the premier comes into contact with hundreds of the little
people. Oh no, in the premier's private office. On a sofa. Cosy
like.
We
tried to find out what the relationship was between the two men.
The "gangster" and the politician.
The
premier's press secretary, Jean Wolfe, the former reporter from
the last bastion of left-wing political correctness, Radio
Canada, came up with a variety of vacant denials.
"Sorry,
we're drawing a blank."
"No
recollection of ever meeting the man."
"Hundreds
of people come through the office."
And
the best of the lot: "Well, he's something of a star. A lot
of people want to get their picture taken with him."
And
on, and on, and on.
I'm
told by some very reliable sources, that Gordon Watson, the
anti-abortion activist feted by some and pilloried by others,
has written a letter demanding the premier come clean about his
relationship with the alleged crime boss.
Watson
also wants to know if Kwok Tam was a contributor to the NDP or
the premier's election campaigns. Oooh! Now there's an
interesting question.
The
premier would have us believe that the photograph was nothing
more than a chance meeting with one of the "hundreds"
of people he comes across in his busy life of ruining -- oops,
sorry -- running the province.
Somehow,
we're supposed to believe that any Tom, Dick or Kwok can get
into the premier's office and get a souvenir pic with the boss.
A modern day Grimm would enjoy that one.
Political
contribution? Business deal? A little lobbying, mayhaps? Who
knows at this point.
But,
somehow, considering the NDP's voracious appetite for expanded
gambling in our little corner of the world and given Tam's, uh,
shall we say "resume" in gambling, I'd say there's
more to this than the premier's office staff would have us
believe.
I'm
betting that anyone who gets an audience with the great man
himself is in the appointment calendar. I'm betting there was a
specific reason to the meeting and that, in some way, involved
gambling.
The Vegas line is currently three to one. Any takers?