Triple-killers who hacked to death Chinese couple Long Tonka Liang, Li-Ping and baby girl Xiao-Nan get heaviest sentences

Triple-killers who hacked to death a Chinese trader-couple and their 18-month-old baby get 'heaviest possible prison sentences' --------------------------------------- On Sept 16 2012, Chinese baby girl Xiao-Nan, 18 months, was hacked to death after her dad Long 'Tonka' Liang 31 and mom Li-ping 24 were slaughtered with sugar-cane knives at their 'Konka Stores'. The young Chinese wife was also tortured: she and her baby had also been strangled: the wife was found with a red cloth stuffed inside her mouth, the baby with a bathrobe wrapped around her little neck. On Friday 14 June 2013 in the Harrismith court judge Corne van Zijl sentenced South African gang-members Dumisane Selepe 18, Mbongeni Kleinboy Tiki 21 and Sieclo Ndaba 21 of Warden to three lifetimes in prison each for each murder. The triple-murder was investigated by the Organised Crime intelligence team headed by SAPS w/o Gert van der Merwe - whose excellent work was praised by judge Van Zyl when handing down sentence. She also said that this case 'was of the cruelest and meanest nature I have ever come across'. --------------------------- Eighteen-month old baby Xiao-Nan was hacked to death after her mom Li-ping 24 and her dad Long Liang 31 were slaughtered on 16 September 2012 at their 'Konka Stores'. ------------------------ The young wife was also tortured and both she and the baby were also strangled. ------------------------ The oldest child, three-year-old boy Zhen Shi, was found weeping hysterically beneath a blanket next to his sister's mutilated little body: he had seen everything. His uncle Chen 25, who was at the court with his sister Youhua 28 during the sentencing in South Africa, said they were planning to return to China. Their little nephew already is back in China with family. The young couple had migrated to South Africa from the Foekien (Sanming, Foejian) region in China. They quickly built up a good relationship with the local community, the court heard: for instance the Foekien Chinese Organisation in the Free State to which they belonged, had donated food, school clothes and shoes valued at R500,000 recently to needy communities. The murdered couple hailed from the Foekien region. -------------------- Chinese consul: 'In China these three triple-killers would have been executed'... ---------------------- Mr Yan Qingwen of the Chinese Consulate in Johannesburg also testified in court, asking for the heaviest possible sentence to be handed down to the triple-murderers. He testified that in China, those men would have been executed for their crimes. He said he had to handle the cases of 'quite a few' several Chinese citizens who were robbed and murdered in his work over the past two years, but that the triple-murder of the popular young trading-couple had shocked him deeply because of its ruthlessness. Qingwen said Chinese citizens provide a great contribution to the South African economy - and incidents such as these are very damaging to South Africa's investment-image."It scares off Chinese investors,'' he said. The Chinese also help many poor communities in South Africa. -------------------- During the trial, Bloemfontein pathologist Dr Vincent Brandt provided the most shocking testimony, describing the 'very excessive amount of violence" in which the three convicted local youth-gang members had slaughtered the young Chinese family. "This was extreme, excessively repeated violence.' (He carried out the post-mortem examinations on the bodies of murder victims trader Long Liang "Konka" Chen, 31, his wife Li-ping 24 and baby daughter Xiao-Nan, 18 months.) He said "so much intense and repeated violence was used against the young father with a panga (sugar-cane knife) that the blade had broken off in his skull, embedded into his brain.'The attack on Konka very likely was unexpected because he did not sustain defence-wounds.' The young wife - asleep with her two children in the bedroom behind the Konka Stores - was so badly assaulted that the entire left side of her skull was crushed. Brandt rejected 18-year-old murderer Dumisani Selepe's claim in court that Li-Ping had 'collapsed and became unconscious' when she had found her husband's body in the shop."There are signs that she could also have been smothered, although the head-injuries were indicated in my report as the main cause of death. A large piece of red fabric had been stuffed into her mouth.Her body was found with the fabric still inside her mouth." Her ordeal had been horrific: he testified that as seen from the stabbing, cutting and scratch-wounds on her upper legs, she more than likely also had been tortured. Selepe testified that he 'stabbed her in the upper legs because they could not wake her up so that she could show them where the money was.' Brandt said that the wounds on her arms 'were caused while she was trying to protect herself from the assailant'. Selepe's legal counsel Dawie Reyneke submitted during cross-examination of Dr Brandt that Li-ping 'could have collapsed with her arms across her face?" Brandt replied: "It's strange that she had a rag inside her mouth. And one does not usually collapse with one's arms in front of your face.' ------------- The young Chinese wife had 31 wounds all over her body. ------------- Murderer Selepe claimed in court that baby Xiao-Nan was hidden beneath the blanket, and was 'accidentially' hacked by co-accused Mbongeni Tiki 21 'while he was attacking the child's mother'. Brandt said in response to this claim that 'the horrific head-wound sustained by little Xiao-Nan showed not one shred of fabric fibres from clothes or blankets."it was a clean wound,' the pathologist testified - indicating that the murder of the baby had been no accident. Moreover, the baby girl also was strangled: she was found with a bathrobe still wrapped around her little neck. -------------- http://www.volksblad.com/nuus/2013-06-05-patoloog-getuig-oor-ekstreme-aanhoudende-geweld-op-gesin ------------- When handing down judgment, Judge Van Zyl praised the SAPS investigation-team and the public prosecuting team for their 'thorough investigation and excellent preparation'. SAPS Warrant Officer Gert van Der Merwe or the Organised Crime unit at Phuthaditjhaba was in charge of the investigation-team. State advocate Johan de Nysschen also said afterwards that he was 'satisfied with the sentence, as this was the heaviest sentence allowed by the State'. -------------------- http://www.volksblad.com/nuus/2013-06-14-drie-swaar-gestraf-n-moord-op-gesin --------------------