David Ho receives an entrepreneurial award from the Vancouver Board of Trade in October 2004. (Vancouver of Board of Trade)

A Vancouver billionaire faces a number of criminal charges after allegedly inviting a woman he met on a telephone chat line to his home and refusing to let her leave.

Ting Kwok Ho — also known as David Ho — is facing eight charges including unlawful confinement, causing bodily harm and several drug and weapons offences.

Vancouver police allege Ho, 57, contacted a woman over a telephone chat line last Dec. 28. After arranging to meet, police said, Ho picked the woman up and the two returned to his home.

"At approximately 4:45 a.m. [PT] the next morning, the woman attempted to leave the residence and Mr. Ho allegedly blocked the door and wouldn’t allow her to leave," Vancouver police Supt. Rob Rothwell said on Monday morning.

The woman then called 911, but didn't know the address of the home. While she was speaking with the operator, a violent struggle allegedly ensued in which she suffered a number of minor injuries, Rothwell said.

While she was trying to escape, the woman fractured her ankle and her screams were heard by neighbours who called the police, said Rothwell.

He said police undertook an investigation which eventually led to several charges being laid against Ho, including:

• Unlawful confinement.
• Causing bodily harm.
• Unauthorized possession of a firearm.
• Storage of a firearm contrary to regulations.
• Possession of a prohibited or restricted firearm with ammunition.
• Possession of a prohibited weapon without a licence.
• Two charges of possession of a controlled substance.

Ho, a prominent businessman in the Vancouver area, is a former member of the Vancouver Police Board. He served on the board for about one year in 1989.

He was the owner of the now-defunct Harmony Airways, based in Richmond, B.C., and the current owner of MCL Motor Cars, a luxury vehicle dealership in Vancouver.