Six Chinese nationals involved in torture, murder of Korean college student get life in prison

Six Chinese nationals who tortured and murdered a Korean college student at a criminal compound in Cambodia were sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday.

The six defendants -– Jin Tian Long, Yin Song Wan, Li Guang Hao, Li Xing Peng, Liu Haoxing and Zhu Rezhe — received life imprisonment by the Kampot Provincial Court, according to reports from the Phnom Penh Post and Khmer Times on Thursday.

The six were charged with murder involving torture, acts of cruelty and aggravated fraud carried out as part of an organized crime group. As Cambodia does not have the death penalty, life imprisonment is the harshest punishment available under its legal system.

The victim, a Korean college student, identified only by his surname Park, was lured to Cambodia in July last year by a voice phishing syndicate.

Among the defendants, Li Guang Hao allegedly called Park’s family to demand money, threatening he would “sell [their son] overseas” if they refused to comply. Li also forcibly injected Park with methamphetamine and filmed the abuse.

The court confirmed that the crimes were committed in Bokor City in Kampot Province on August 8. On the same day, Park was found dead inside a vehicle near Bokor Mountain.

“The autopsy showed that Park died from severe torture,” the Cambodian court said. “There were bruises and wounds all over his body.” 

Korean authorities tracked Li after identifying his voice in the threatening calls and videos sent to Park’s family. Li is reportedly an accomplice to the mastermind behind a 2023 drug case in Seoul, where high school students were lured into drinking methamphetamine-spiked beverages and their parents were blackmailed.

A Korean arrest warrant was issued for him after he was caught attempting to smuggle four kilograms (8.8 pounds) of narcotics into Korea in January 2024.

Cambodian authorities have also stepped up crackdowns in cooperation with Korea, including the arrest and extradition to China of Chen Zhi, chairman of Prince Holding Group. Chen was identified as a key figure behind large-scale criminal compounds operating in Cambodia. He was later extradited to China.

A total of 1,458 people tied to fraud syndicates have been indicted with criminal offenses as of this month, according to Cambodian authorities. They also deported 18,864 people from 33 countries who had worked for the syndicates.

“The Chinese government has consistently required Chinese citizens overseas to strictly abide by local laws and regulations,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said during a press briefing on Thursday. “China is willing to strengthen law enforcement cooperation with other countries and jointly combat cross-border crimes, including telecommunications fraud."

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.

BY KIM KI-HWAN [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]