Man jailed for 10 years after 'classic crime of passion'

A Chinese man was today sentenced to 10 years in prison for killing his ex-girlfriend in "a classic crime of passion".

Hua Yu Feng (aged 27), originally from Fuxing City, China, had pleaded guilty to manslaughter but not guilty to the murder of his former girlfriend, Ms Xiang Yi Wang (aged 21), who was from the same city in China, in Bray on July 4, 2003.

Ms Wang, known as "Linda", had been living with a Chinese family at The Grove, Woodbrook Glen, Bray, at the time of her death.

Following Feng’s trial last February, a jury of seven men and five women delivered the unanimous manslaughter verdict, which was based on provocation, after deliberating for two hours and eight minutes.

Today, Mr Justice Paul Butler in the Central Criminal Court, sentenced Feng to 10 years in prison for his "horrendous crime". Feng’s sentence is back-dated two years since he has been in custody from July 14, 2003.

Prosecuting counsel Mr James McCarthy SC relayed the details of the killing to the court.

Feng and Ms Wang had been in a relationship for 18 months, although an "estrangement" had occurred between the two prior to her death.

"During that period, this lady struck up a relationship with another man, who is Irish," Mr McCarthy said.

Linda had met a fellow Special Olympics volunteer, who was also a garda, just weeks before she was killed. The two had been out on a date on the night of July 3, and Linda was dropped off at home around 1am by her date, garda Sean Lynan.

"The day before the incident, the accused had repeatedly phoned the deceased. He was jealous of the way she had begun this relationship," Mr McCarthy said.

Feng drank in a bar, went home and retrieved a large kitchen knife and waited for up to an hour and a half in the vicinity of the deceased’s home.

There are "no clear circumstances" about how Linda ended up in the park near her home, where her body was spotted by passers-by that morning.

"She appears to have gone directly with the accused, having been dropped off," Mr McCarthy said.

According to Feng, Linda told him "love stories" of her new boyfriend, which made the accused deeply upset.

Linda received seven "deep and penetrating" stab wounds to her trunk. According to State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy, death was due to "haemorrhaging, shock and breathing difficulties" from the stab wounds.

Linda also had neck compressions, but these did not cause her death.

Feng had made two attempts to phone emergency services, but his calls were not understood.

He went home and slept after the killing and took a train to Belfast later that day, where he attempted suicide at a local youth hostel. With the help of a friend, he returned to Dublin and voluntarily turned himself in at Bray garda station after being released from hospital in Belfast.

"For what it’s worth, Mr Feng suffers from the deepest remorse and grief for what he has done," his counsel, Mr Diarmaid McGuinness said.

Linda’s parents were in Ireland for the trial and her father, Mr De Jin Wang, told the court of his fury following the manslaughter verdict on February 14.

"The court has spent more than 10 days hearing the evidence, the gardaí spent over a year and a half investigating such a big case and the jurors only spent two hours on their verdict," Mr Wang said, through an interpreter.

Linda, a talented musician and qualified piano teacher, had been sent here because "Ireland is a peaceful and beautiful country".

"We sent out child alive to Ireland, she was full of energy and wishes for the future. And we got back only ashes," Mr Wang said.

Linda’s 80-year-old grandmother still calls out her name in tears, he said.

"And my wife wanted to die many times after hearing the murder news," he added.

Addressing the killer, Mr Wang said: "The shameless coward has won. You can run away from punishment, but you won’t run away from God."

"My daughter’s eyes will look at you forever," he told Feng.

Mr Justice Butler said he "could not but be deeply affected by the harrowing evidence of Ms Wang's father".

As a matter of principle, Mr Justice Butler said he still had to treat the sentencing the same "as if Linda were an orphan".

"Linda was an entirely innocent person. She was female and defenceless against the attack," he said.

Delivering the sentencing, Mr Justice Butler called the killing "a very serious crime", but there were mitigating factors.

"The accused is a foreign national who is going to serve a term of prison in Ireland," he said.

Feng has no previous convictions and "is otherwise of good character". Mr Justice Butler also took into consideration the fact that Feng voluntarily turned himself in and fully cooperated throughout the investigation and trial.

Mr Justice Butler was concerned that Feng would receive proper therapy for his anger management.

"The base of the problem of his anger is still there," Mr Justice Butler said.

Defence counsel assured the court the accused would avail of any services available to him.

"This was a crime of passion and it’s very clear from the probation report that he should be given therapeutic treatment," he added.

Mr Justice Butler imposed the 10-year sentence, saying that Linda’s killing was "at the top end of such crimes of manslaughter".

The court heard that Feng has no visitors in prison and is considerably isolated.

"I believe he has had one visit from an aunt who travelled specifically to see him," Mr McGuinness said.

Feng’s parents are not speaking to him, but he is in contact with his uncle over the phone.

Feng has been in Ireland since 2000 and was enrolled at an English language school and employed as a cleaner at the time of the incident. He has a diploma in dentistry from China and is now studying for his Junior Cert in prison. The court heard he has just received an Open University place to study social sciences from prison.