The Hello Kitty murder case () took place in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

in the spring of 1999, when a

nightclub A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a Bar (establishment), bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighti ...

hostess was abducted in Lai Yiu Estate, tortured and raped in an apartment in

Tsim Sha Tsui Tsim Sha Tsui ( zh, c=尖沙咀), often abbreviated as TST, is an list of areas of Hong Kong, area in southern Kowloon, Hong Kong. The area is administratively part of the Yau Tsim Mong District. Tsim Sha Tsui East is a piece of land reclaimed ...

Kowloon Kowloon () is one of the areas of Hong Kong, three areas of Hong Kong, along with Hong Kong Island and the New Territories. It is an urban area comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. It has a population of 2,019,533 and a populat ...

, after stealing a wallet owned by one of her frequent customers. Fan Man-yee (, 23) was held captive by three men and one girl before dying between 14 and 15 April 1999. Her body was

decapitated Decapitation is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and all vertebrate animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood by way of severing through the jugular vein and common ...

and her skull placed inside of a

Hello Kitty , also known by her real name , is a fictional character created by Yuko Shimizu, currently designed by Yuko Yamaguchi, and owned by the Japanese company Sanrio. Sanrio depicts Hello Kitty as a British anthropomorphized white cat with a red ...

mermaid plush.

Background

Born in 1976 in

Shenzhen Shenzhen is a prefecture-level city in the province of Guangdong, China. A Special economic zones of China, special economic zone, it is located on the east bank of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River estuary on the central coast of Guangdong ...

, Fan Man-yee was abandoned by her family as a child, resulting in her being raised in an all girls'

orphanage An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or abusi ...

Ma Tau Wai Ma Tau Wai (, originally , historically ) is an area in the Kowloon City District, Kowloon, Hong Kong. It was originally a walled village (Cantonese: ; ''Wai'') between present-day Argyle Street and Prince Edward Road West, east of present ...

. When she turned 15, she was told to leave the orphanage because they had an age restriction. Becoming homeless and addicted to drugs, Fan was forced into street prostitution, and at age 21 began working at a

brothel A brothel, strumpet house, bordello, bawdy house, ranch, house of ill repute, house of ill fame, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in Human sexual activity, sexual activity with prostitutes. For legal or cultural reasons, establis ...

named Romance Villa, located in

Sham Shui Po Sham Shui Po () is an area of Kowloon, Hong Kong, situated in the northwestern part of the Kowloon Peninsula, north of Tai Kok Tsui, east of Cheung Sha Wan and south of Shek Kip Mei (). It is located in and is the namesake of the Sham Shui ...

. Fan eventually married one of her clients, a fellow drug addict named Ng Chi-yuen (), in 1996. She gave birth to their son two years later in November 1998, roughly five months before her murder. Fan's husband was described as

abusive Abuse is the act of improper usage or treatment of a person or thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, ...

and neighbors in their

Mong Kok Mong Kok (Chinese language, Chinese: 旺角), also spelled Mongkok, often abbreviated as MK, is an area in Kowloon, Hong Kong. The Prince Edward, Hong Kong, Prince Edward subarea occupies the northern part of Mong Kok. As one of the major sho ...

apartment building would report being awakened by sounds of the couple's fights and the child's screaming and crying. Upon her pregnancy and then the birth of her son, Fan decided to turn her life around in order to protect her son and provide him a safer life. She quit drugs and prostitution, got a job as a hostess at a nightclub named Empress Karaoke Club, and eventually left her violent husband shortly before her murder. Due to these sacrifices, she had a much lower income and struggled to support herself and her family.

Kidnapping

Chan Man-lok (, alias Ah Lok or Ah Hsi, born 17 May 1965), a 33-year-old

Wo Shing Wo Wo Shing Wo or WSW () is the oldest of the Wo Group triad societies, and is the triad with the longest history in Hong Kong. According to the Hong Kong police, the triad is involved in extortion, drug trafficking, gambling and prostitution.

triad Triad or triade may refer to: * a group of three Humanities * Trichotomy (philosophy), often called triads * Triad (sociology), a group of three people as a unit of study * Triad (relationship), or ''ménage à trois'' Music * Triad (music ...

member who had exhibited problematic behavior since middle school and had previous convictions for

drug trafficking A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestion, ...

(in 1991), was one of Fan's regular clients at the brothel. In early 1999, Fan stole Chan's wallet, which contained about $HK4,000 (roughly

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

500). When Chan realized what had happened, he demanded Fan return the money in addition to a fee of $HK10,000. Although Fan immediately returned the stolen money, she needed more time to secure the additional fee. On 17 March 1999, Fan was abducted by three men and one girl at her flat in the Fu Yiu section of Lai Yiu Estate: Chan; his grooming victim Lau Ming-fong (, alias Ah Fong, 14), Leung Wai-lun (, alias Gangsta 1, 21), and Leung Shing-cho (, alias Gangsta 2, possibly 26, boyfriend of Lau). The group took Fan to an apartment at No. 31 Granville Road,

, where they imprisoned her for a month. The apartment was rented by Chan himself, but was owned by two men referred to as Ah Sam and Ah Kao, who were not involved in gang activities. Initially, Chan had intended to make money off of Fan by

pimp Procuring, pimping, or pandering is the facilitation or provision of a prostitute or other sex worker in the arrangement of a sex act with a customer. A procurer, colloquially called a pimp (if male) or a madam (if female, though the term "pimp" ...

ing her out to other men. Prior to the kidnapping, both Leung Wai-lun and Leung Shing-cho worked at a

retail store The retail format (also known as the retail formula) influences the consumer's store choice and addresses the consumer's expectations. At its most basic level, a retail format is a simple marketplace, that is; a location where goods and services ar ...

nearby Granville Road.

Ordeal

During her imprisonment, she was tortured and raped. According to one source, she was beaten with metal bars, sometimes while being strung up and used as a punching bag. On one occasion, Fan was kicked in the head around fifty times. Spices were rubbed into Fan's wounds, her legs and feet were burned with candle wax and hot plastic so that she was unable to walk. She was forced to smile and say she enjoyed the beatings; if she refused, they subjected her to even harsher torture. This treatment eventually led to

traumatic shock Shock is the state of insufficient blood flow to the tissues of the body as a result of problems with the circulatory system. Initial symptoms of shock may include weakness, tachycardia, hyperventilation, sweating, anxiety, and increased thirst. ...

and ultimately death. Fan succumbed to her wounds between 14 April and 15 April 1999. Some sources claim that she died while her captors were out, while others say she died overnight. Upon discovery of Fan's body, her captors dismembered and boiled the remains; her skull was sewed inside of a

doll filled with dead insects while the rest of the body was discarded. Only her skull, one tooth, and some internal organs were recovered in a plastic bag, after Lau led the

Yau Ma Tei Yau Ma Tei is an area in the Yau Tsim Mong District in the south of the Kowloon Peninsula in Hong Kong. Name ''Yau Ma Tei'' is a phonetic transliteration of the name (originally written as ) in Cantonese. It can also be spelt as Yaumatei, Y ...

police to the scene on 24 May. Three police officers, Chiu Ka-hsue, Sin Tim-wah and Andrew Yip Yan-ling, all from the Yau Ma Tei Police Division No. 539, were the first officers who arrived at the scene. Other parts were recovered from trash dumps in

Wan Chai Wan Chai (Traditional Chinese characters, Chinese: 灣仔) is located in the western part of Wan Chai District on the northern shore of Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. It is bounded by Canal Road, Hong Kong, Canal Road to the east, Arsenal St ...

and

Tai Kok Tsui Tai Kok Tsui is an area west of Mong Kok in Yau Tsim Mong District, Yau Tsim Mong district in the Kowloon region of Hong Kong. The mixed land use of industrial and residential is present in the old area. The Cosmopolitan Dock and oil depots we ...

. At the time of the arrest, Chan was living with his wife Ah Pui (real name Tse Pui-ling, ) and his newborn baby at an apartment in the Shek Ning section of

Shek Lei Estate Shek Lei Estate (), also known by Shek Lei (, both are currently used) is a Public housing in Hong Kong, public housing estate in Hong Kong, situated in the Shek Lei Pui () area in northeast Kwai Chung, New Territories, near Shek Yam Estate, On ...

. The apartment was raided by SWAT officers on the early morning hours of 28 May. Tse was first suspected to be involved in the murder, but was quickly released after no evidence was found. After finding out the murder made it to the media via a

Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

-based local newspaper, Leung Wai-lun fled to mainland

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

(

Guangxi Guangxi,; officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China, located in South China and bordering Vietnam (Hà Giang Province, Hà Giang, Cao Bằn ...

) before getting caught by the police on 14 February 2000, after irregularities were found in his passport. Prior to the arrest, Leung was put on

Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL (abbreviated as ICPO–INTERPOL), commonly known as Interpol ( , ; stylized in allcaps), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime cont ...

's most wanted list. He was sent back to Hong Kong on 17 February for trial. Fan's skull was identified on 3 June, after a "photo overlapping method" at Lockhart Mortuary, and the skull was moved to Kowloon Public Mortuary after the trial.

Trial

On 7 December 2000, after a trial which started on 20 October, the three men were convicted of

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ce ...

with a vote of 6:3, as the eight-man and one-woman jury ruled the remains were not sufficient to show whether Fan was murdered or died from a

drug overdose A drug overdose (overdose or OD) is the ingestion or application of a drug or other substance in quantities much greater than are recommended. Retrieved on September 20, 2014.

. While the jury could not rule that the men intended to kill Fan, they did determine that she had died as a result of their abuse. Lau testified at the trial in exchange for

immunity Immunity may refer to: Medicine * Immunity (medical), resistance of an organism to infection or disease * ''Immunity'' (journal), a scientific journal published by Cell Press Biology * Immune system Engineering * Radiofrequence immunity ...

. During the trial, Chan and Leung Shing-cho denied killing Fan, although they did not deny dismembering her body. Chan's wife Tse Pui-ling, Fan's husband Ng Chi-yuen and Fan's aunt also testified in court. After the guilty verdict, Leung Wai-lun's sister reportedly experienced a

mental breakdown A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is ...

, while Leung's brother slammed and broke the court door. Justice Peter Nguyen, who sentenced the trio to

life in prison Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life imprisonment are co ...

with the possibility of parole, stated, "Never in Hong Kong in recent years has a court heard of such cruelty, depravity, callousness, brutality, violence, and viciousness." Psychiatric reports of

Castle Peak Hospital Castle Peak Hospital is the oldest and largest psychiatric hospital in Hong Kong. Located east of Castle Peak in Tuen Mun, the hospital was established in 1961. It has 1,156 beds, providing a wide variety of psychiatric services such as adu ...

and Siu Lam Hospital described the three as "remorseless". There would be no review for parole for twenty years. Chan Man-lok and Leung Wai-lun are currently serving their life sentences in

Stanley Prison Stanley Prison (c. January 1937, previously known as Hong Kong Prison at Stanley) is one of the six maximum security facilities in Hong Kong. History Built in 1937, Stanley Prison is currently the oldest institution still in service (the old ...

. Former

TVB Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB; zh, t=電視廣播有限公司) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong. The company operates five free-to-air terrestrial television channels in Hong Kong, with TVB Jade as its main Canton ...

reporters Carmen Luk and Mimi Yeung attended the trial, with Luk describing the court scene as "crazy and scary". Chan lost his

appeal In law, an appeal is the process in which Legal case, cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of cla ...

on 13 August 2007, by the request of the court.

Aftermath

Fan's skull was the only exhibit in the case. After the trial, it was kept by the forensic pathologist in the Kowloon Public Mortuary until the appeal process of the prisoners was completed, and her birth family was notified in March 2004 that the skull would be returned and cremated on 26 March. The apartment building in which the crime took place was demolished in September 2012 and has been rebuilt as a hotel named Soravit in 2016. Three

buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...

portraits were placed in the hotel as a memorial. A necklace that belonged to Fan was handed over to Fan's son after it was discovered in the refrigerator during the investigation. The publicity around the case resulted in the production and release of films that told the story. Both ''Human Pork Chop'' (烹屍之喪盡天良) and '' There is a Secret in my Soup'' were released in 2001. Leung Shing-cho, who managed to reduce his sentence from life to eighteen years on appeal in March 2004, was released in April 2014. Eight years later, Leung was arrested and sentenced to jail once again for twelve months in August 2022 for sexually assaulting a ten-year-old girl.

Notes

References

External links

Trio sentenced to life in jail for gruesome killing in H.K
– Asian Economic News, 11 December 2000 * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hello Kitty Murder 1990s missing person cases 1990s murders in Hong Kong 1999 crimes in Hong Kong 1999 murders in China April 1999 crimes April 1999 in China Female murder victims Formerly missing people Hello Kitty History of women in Hong Kong Incidents of violence against women Kidnappings in Hong Kong Missing person cases in China Murder in Hong Kong People murdered by organized crime People murdered in Hong Kong Triad (organized crime) Violence against women in Hong Kong