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 near his residence in Hangzhou on Friday, and local police have arrested a suspect, they confirmed on Wednesday.

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

The suspect was arrested around 3 pm the same day.

Zong, 67, is the second-richest man in China with a personal fortune of 115 billion yuan ($18.79 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.