Murder victim linked to Triads

A CHINESE man beaten and hacked to death after his car was rammed at a roundabout is thought to have fallen victim to a Triad gang. He was named yesterday as Hok Wan Leung, a 34-year-old unemployed chef from north London.

Police in Colchester, Essex, are questioning 24 men, 22 of whom are of Chinese extraction. Detectives are investigating links with British- based Triad gangsters from the Chinatown area of central London.

There are four Triad gangs in Britain. The organisations, rooted in secret societies, rule the underworld in Hong Kong and specialise in vice, protection, gambling, loan sharking, and drug dealing.

The murder is thought to have followed a high-speed chase on the A12 from London towards Colchester. A second man was treated in hospital for minor injuries.

Police seized four cars and are looking for three others. They also want to speak to the driver of a white Ford Sierra who may have seen an earlier fight on the A12 at Easthorpe, south-west of Colchester.