He Xiangjian, the billionaire founder of the Midea Group, one of the world’s largest home appliance manufacturers, was rescued by police after being held hostage in his home by intruders allegedly armed with explosives, Bloomberg reports.
The abduction attempt failed after He’s son escaped and swam across a nearby river to alert police.
Police in the city of Foshan in the southern Guangdong province said they were notified of a break-in at a private home at 5.30 p.m. on Sunday and that the occupants' lives were under threat.
Five suspects were arrested at 5:00 a.m. local time on Monday morning and no one was injured, according to a police statement.
According to Sky News, several people in the area said that police had locked down the entire community from Sunday afternoon to Monday morning.
Midea employees in Foshan were also told to not go into work on Monday while risk assessments were carried out.
Midea thanked the police in a statement on their Weibo page, China’s version of Twitter. A spokesperson for the company told Bloomberg that the case is currently being investigated by police.
He founded the Midea Group in 1968 at the age of 26. In the beginning the company produced plastic bottle lids and car parts.
The company is now known globally and throughout China for its home appliances and air conditioners.
He retired as chairman in 2012 and handed the company over to his son, He Jianfeng, 55, who also owns one of the world’s largest robotics companies, the German firm Kuka.
The elder He is China’s seventh richest person, with a purported net worth of $24 billion, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index.
