Murders too sad for
parents
Shelley Hodgson,
Herald Sun
19 May 2004
THE parents of a Chinese woman
murdered in Essendon are going about their daily life in a city near Beijing
thinking she is still alive.
Zhao Ying's brother, Zhao Qun, has arrived in Melbourne and revealed their parents, both in their mid-60s, do not know their beloved only daughter has been dead for almost two weeks.
"They are not in good health," Mr Zhao said through an interpreter.
"It's too much for them to know now. They may not be able to bear it. They might collapse, they won't be able to cope."
Zhao Ying and her husband Li Yuqing, both 31, were found slashed to death in their Edward St flat last Monday. Detectives believe they were murdered as early as the previous Thursday.
Indonesian-born chef Andrew Jek Kabo, 22, has appeared in Melbourne Magistrates' Court charged with the murders. He was remanded in custody until September 29.
Zhao Qun, and Yuqing's father, Li Xing Ding and brother Li Yu Gang, arrived in Melbourne on Saturday to carry the couple's ashes home.
They have set up a temporary altar in their motel room to pay tribute to Ying and Yuqing and have written an open letter to Herald Sun readers.
Zhao Qun said not only did he have to cope with losing his sister, but how his parents would deal with it when he told them.
"What's happened is very, very sudden to me and really unexpected, unthinkable," he said.
Mr Zhao told his parents he was going to Shanghai and plans to tell them of Ying's death when the time is right.
They remain in the large city of Tian Jin, about 100km from Beijing, oblivious to their daughter's death.
Li Yuqing's mother also does not know her son has died.
His distraught father Li Xing Ding, 59, and brother Li Yu Gang told her just that he had been injured and in hospital.
She fainted when she heard the news.
When they return to their village in China's north with his ashes, they plan to tell her the truth.
Li Yu Gang said his brother was a good person whom he always admired and he missed him.
Yuqing's father said the death had been very hard to accept.
"I couldn't believe it, can't imagine this would happen, can't accept it," Mr Li said. He said his family was admired in their village because of Yuqing's achievements.
"We are very thankful to the police and also the media because within 48 hours they could arrest the suspect."
Mr Zhao described his sister as kind and open-minded, with a love of nature and animals.
He said his sister and brother-in-law were very much in love and married almost five years ago, moving from China to Singapore before arriving in Australia 18 months ago.
They received permanent residency in March. Yuqing recently completed his masters degree in information technology at RMIT. He was working in a supermarket while he looked for a job in IT and had lined up an interview in Sydney.
Ying studied business management. She worked as a bookbinder in Melbourne, teaching Chinese at weekends.
The secretary of the Tsinghua University Alumni Association in Melbourne, Steven Wang, said members were raising money for their former classmate's family.
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