Mom aided in sex assault by 'Taoist practitioner' convicted of murder

Wallis Wang

A self-proclaimed Taoist practitioner was convicted of murder and indecent assault of a 21-year-old mentally disabled woman by a high court jury yesterday.

The victim's mother, who had been an "apprentice" of the man, was found guilty of aiding and abetting in the assault.

Dunsany Cheung Chi-choi, 54, who also claimed to be a Chinese medicine practitioner, had denied the charges.

Evidence showed he hit the victim, Ng Yan-yu, on the head with fly swatters and banged her head against a wall in late 2019.

His co-defendant, Ng Ma Yu-kang, 57, pleaded not guilty to aiding Cheung by buying a sex toy with him for use on her daughter.

A jury of six women and one man took five hours to find the two guilty of all charges.

Judge Esther Toh Lye-ping adjourned the case to Friday for mitigation and sentencing. The two, who appeared to be calm upon hearing the verdict, were remanded in custody.

The victim was found dead in a Lung Mei Tsuen village house on September 2, 2019, with swelling in her head.

Cheung told police upon being arrested he first met the mother in 2014 at his clinic and later accepted her as an apprentice.

Her husband too became a follower before Cheung and the family moved into the village house together in 2017.

Cheung said Ng was possessed by an evil spirit so he beat her with fly swatters, slippers and umbrellas, as well as his fists and palms between March and September 2019.

He also said Ng, a virgin, had a sexual relationship in the spirit world so he bought a sex toy and used it on her during a ritual.

On September 1, 2019, Cheung said, Ng did not get up on time, leading him to push her against the wall several times and leading to her being hit in the head and stomach

He said Ng drank baijiu without permission and forced her to finish it, saying "since you stole my alcohol, you have to drink it all."

In the early hours the next day, he noticed Ng was still lying on the ground. He asked Ng's father to call the police after a ritual.

Ng had 80 bruises and scratches all over her body, indicating she was in great pain.

She also had a high level of alcohol content in her blood while bleeding in the head when unconscious, which caused pneumonia and breathing difficulties that led to her death, the court heard.