Samuel Lau

Timeline

• 16 June 1997 — A family of four was found dead inside Samuel Lau’s home in Bellevue; Samuel Lau fatally shot his wife and sons and then shot himself.
• July 4, 1994 — Robert Silverman was injured in an explosion during a fireworks display in Annapolis, Maryland.
• June 20 — Arlene Lau was to take the younger son to Hong Kong.

Background

Samuel Lau was a successful businessman from Hong Kong and a fireworks broker. His family business, China National Fireworks, was known in Hong Kong as Kwongyuen Hangkee Ltd., and had been owned by the family for decades and is well known in Hong Kong. The company had been in the family for three generations. In recent years, Samuel Lau had become more of a broker, moving the headquarters to Hong Kong, contracting with factories in mainland China and exporting fireworks to the United States. He supplied a few companies in Washington but mostly dealt with companies elsewhere in the U.S., including Missouri, Ohio and Texas.

The family planned to move from Bellevue’s Amherst neighborhood near Coal Creek Parkway to a larger house with a three-car garage after a trip to Hong Kong this summer. They had sold their house at 13820 S.E. 62nd St. and planned to travel back to Hong Kong to visit relatives this summer.

Industry experts said Americans were buying more sparklers and firecrackers every year, and the Laus’ well-established business appeared to be succeeding. “He’s a real giant in the industry,” said Jerry Elrod, president of Pyrodyne American of Tacoma.

Friends and associates described Samuel Lau as savvy and gregarious. Lau’s brother Peter Lau said:

“Sam Lau is a happy-go-lucky guy.”

Lau’s brother also said:

“He is the last person to have an enemy.”

He added:

“If there’s anything beyond our knowledge within his own family, we do not really know.”

Peter Lau had last seen his brother during Samuel’s recent visit to Hong Kong, but they met only briefly. The company had stopped hearing from Samuel Lau about two days ago, Peter Lau said. Usually, they heard from him two to three times a day. Peter Lau said:

“We become a strong team to face this tragedy.”

Dennis Su, president of the Hong Kong Club on the Eastside, attended Puiching High School in Hong Kong with Samuel Lau. Su said he dined and played golf with Lau whenever Su’s old friend was in town. Su said Lau had been taking tranquilizers for the past few months, and friends did not know why. Su said Lau had complained to him about stiff competition in the fireworks industry in recent months, but there was no indication Lau’s business had faltered.

Wilson Mao, director of Hop Kee Pyrotechnics, said he had known Samuel Lau since childhood. Mao said he was surprised to learn from news accounts that Lau might have had difficulties with his business, saying:

“I just could not accept the fact that his whole family died all of the sudden.”

Mao also said: and further:

“The companies are ‘all very big and old families of fireworks’.”

Mao said he was surprised to learn from news accounts that Lau might have had difficulties with his business and said the Hong Kong Pyrotechnics Association now counts 10 companies as members, and that it was co-founded by Lau.

The offence

Authorities said Samuel Lau fatally shot his wife, Arlene, 49, and his sons Sammy, 21, and Terence, 17, several times each in the upper body in an upstairs bedroom of their Bellevue house early Monday. The narrative described authorities as initially treating the case as a mob hit, but unfolded into familial murder-suicide.

Samuel Lau then shot himself in the head with a 9-mm pistol he bought several days earlier. Police said Lau left a note, several pages long, blaming “business and personal reasons” for his actions.

A police source said that despite its length, the note failed to detail a motive. The police source said Lau accepted responsibility for the slayings and rambled about forgiveness without answering the question why. The article included a quote from Lau’s brother Peter by phone from Hong Kong.

Investigation

Police said Samuel Lau left a note, several pages long, blaming “business and personal reasons” for his actions. A police source said the note failed to detail a motive and that Lau accepted responsibility for the slayings and rambled about forgiveness without answering the question why.

Neighbors met in a private home a short distance from the Laus’ home to discuss the shootings with police. A group of Sammy’s friends stood on the sidewalk and hugged each other before they walked across the lawn to the house and began crying. They sat on the front step and held each other.

Arrest

No arrest was described in the material.

Trial

No trial was described in the material.

Sentencing

No sentencing was described in the material.

Appeals

No appeals were described in the material.

Outcome

The family of four was found dead inside their home in Bellevue on 16 June 1997. Authorities described the case as familial murder-suicide after an initial impression of a mob hit. Samuel Lau died after shooting himself in the head.

Aftermath

The shootings were front-page news in the South China Morning Post. The family’s planned trip to Hong Kong included taking the younger son. Arlene Lau had planned to take the younger son to Hong Kong on June 20.

The eldest son, Sammy Lau, was a senior majoring in business administration at the University of Washington where he was on the dean’s list. A friend said Sammy had taken a summer job in Hong Kong and was to leave that week.

Terence was a junior at Newport High School where Principal Fred Cogswell described him as an excellent student.

A quote from a poem Sammy had sent out last year was included:

“What drew us together was a mystery, where each of us is heading is a mystery as well . . .”

The poem was described by a young woman who knew Sammy through the Hong Kong Student Association at the University of Washington:

“This was an e-mail Sammy sent out last year,” and: “It seems appropriate now,” she said of the poem that was sent to the association at the end of the school year.

Other details

Samuel Lau was described as having bought a 9-mm pistol several days earlier. Friends noticed a change in Lau recently, saying he was less talkative and more sluggish than usual and that he even lost weight. When Lau did not bring up any concerns, friends took his mood for jet lag as Lau returned from a trip to Hong Kong just one week ago.

The Lau company faced two product-liability lawsuits, said William Weimer, general counsel of B.J. Alan. Weimer said he discussed the two lawsuits with Lau several weeks ago and that Lau had a comfort level:

“We talked about worst-case scenarios, and he had a pretty good comfort level with them,” and: “I’d be really surprised if these two cases would’ve driven him to this.”

One lawsuit involved Robert Silverman, a Pennsylvania resident injured in an explosion during a fireworks display in Annapolis, Md., July 4, 1994, according to Silverman’s attorney, Bruce Phillips, of Pittsburgh. Phillips said Silverman was seeking damages for injuries suffered when a large aerial fireworks exploded in its tube, setting off others and injuring him. Phillips said Silverman was the operator of the company putting on the fireworks show.

Lau and his wife were scheduled to give depositions in the case in Pittsburgh tomorrow, but Phillips said the lawsuit was routine. Phillips said:

“I would not call it a heavy lawsuit,” and Phillips explained that his client suffered significant but not disabling injuries.

Industry executives said such lawsuits were considered part of the fireworks trade, and most companies arm themselves with ample insurance. Lau’s associate Elrod said he did not remember Lau mentioning the particulars of any cases. Elrod said:

“(Lawsuits) happen,” and: “He has been through a lot of fireworks seasons; I’m sure he’s used to something like this.”

The article also stated that Lau shot his wife Arlene and sons Sammy and Terence “several times each in the upper body” in an upstairs bedroom of their Bellevue house early Monday, and that he then shot himself in the head.