In 1999, the Hello Kitty murder case became shocking in Hong Kong when the victim, a 23-year-old attendant, was brutally tortured and murdered. What terrifies many people is the detail that the victim’s head is hidden inside a Hello Kitty stuffed animal!
For many people, Hong Kong is still considered a safe city with always tight security and many educated people. Therefore, murder and robbery cases rarely occur in this city. However, in 1999, the case of kidnapping, torture and brutal murder of a 23-year-old girl shocked the entire Hong Kong special region, China.
The case was unveiled when a 14-year-old girl named A Fang, the girlfriend of one of the three murderers, told social workers about her recurring nightmares featuring images of a girl demanding her head back.
On May 24, 1999, the case was reported to the police by social workers, but the police said it was a myth. However, due to A Fang’s fierceness, Hong Kong police also tried to go to the scene and horrifying details about the murder were revealed.
Traces of the murder were identified in the apartment with many parts of the victim’s body hidden in the refrigerator. On top of that, when the police discovered a Hello Kitty stuffed animal with a human head inside, everyone was amazed. From that macabre detail, the case was named “Hello Kitty murder“.
Immediately after that, the police launched an investigation to bring the three brutal murderers to light and many other details of the case were revealed.
Revisiting the shocking case
On March 17, 1999, a group of three men kidnapped Fan Man-Yee, also known as Ah Map. This 23-year-old girl works as a prostitute and is the mother of a 1-year-old son. While working at a brothel in Kowloon, Hong Kong, she met a guy named Chan Man-lok. Later, Chan became her regular customer and the two often met.
One time, Ah Map made a mistake by stealing Chan’s wallet with 20,000 HKD. However, Ah Map did not know that she had to pay that amount with her life.
When Chan asked her to pay that amount and interest, Ah Map was unable to pay. Chan ordered two disciples, 27-year-old Leung Shing-cho and 21-year-old Leung Wai-lun, to kidnap her at home and take her to apartment number 31, Granville Road, Tsim Sha Tsui area, Hong Kong. This is where she was imprisoned for a month. At first, Chan Map planned to force her to work as a prostitute to earn money to pay off his debt, until the debt was paid off.
However, he later changed his mind and forced her to entertain and torture her. A month of nightmares for the young girl began from there.
Hell in apartment number 31
The use of drugs made the kidnappers unable to control their actions and Ah Map was tortured every day as a way to satisfy them. The 23-year-old girl was beaten with an iron rod and a water pipe. Sometimes they also used electric wires to tie her up, then hung her from the ceiling and beat her. Sometimes Ah Map was kept like that all night.
The days of torture have not ended; They poured molten plastic down her legs until her skin turned red and burned, then continued to pour chili sauce onto the wounds. The three kidnappers also forced her to drink oil, defecate on her face, and forced her to eat the raw feces of the 14-year-old girlfriend of one of the three men. If she did not swallow or resist, they would brutally beat her. Even more horrifying, if Ah Map did not pretend to be cheerful or happy, they would continue to torture her until she fainted.
After being tortured for a long time with many injuries on her body, Ah Map passed away at the end of April. Her body was placed on the bathroom floor for several days before the three murderers decided how to dispose of it. Finally, Chan beheaded her and the other two men cut off parts of Ah Map’s body and put them in bags and put them in the refrigerator.
As if that wasn’t enough, the killers stuffed Ah Map’s head into a Hello Kitty stuffed animal in the house and the other body parts were thrown away.
The trial proceedings
The case was later brought to light in court with many people testifying for the victim. Wu Zhi Yuan, the victim’s friend, said that after March 13, 1999, he did not see the victim again. Many people living around apartment number 31 also said they sometimes hear screaming sounds from inside that house.
Immediately after being made public, the case made many Hong Kong people extremely upset. “The Hello Kitty murder” appeared a lot in the newspapers, became the focus of public opinion and everyone was waiting for news of the trial of the three murderers. In the end, all three murderers were sentenced to at least 20 years in prison.
Even though more than 15 years have passed, when reminded, Hong Kong people still cannot help but shudder at the “murder of the century” in this city.
