Wei Seng ‘Paul’ Phua is not a member of Hong Kong’s notorious 14k Triad. That’s the viewpoint of Malaysian Home Affairs Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, as Phua’s defense team increased their efforts to free their client from the shackles of the Nevada legal system.

Whilst the world was sticking their Catherine Wheels on the garden fence, telling the kids they could stay up late, and learning the lyrics to Auld Lang Syne, The South China Morning Post (SCMP) was announcing details of the latest plot line to hit the story connecting Phua and his son to the alleged illegal sports betting ring that was busted in a Caesars Palace hotel suite back in the summer.

According to SCMP’s scribe Patrick Boehler, Phua’s legal team handed the United States District Court in Las Vegas an envelope marked ‘private & confidential.’ Inside that envelope was a letter from the Malaysian Home Affairs Minister, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, claiming that Phua was not a member of Hong Kong’s 14K Triad group. The letter was addressed to Deputy FBI Director Mark Giuliano.

Q:Mr. Phua is neither a member nor is he associated with the ‘14k Triad,’” wrote Malaysia’s Minister of Home Affairs, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. “Mr. Phua has, on numerous occasions, assisted the Government of Malaysia on projects affecting our national security and accordingly we continue to call upon him to assist us from time to time and as such we are eager for him to return to Malaysia.”;