The leader of a fringe religious group Kaixiao Liu has been sentenced to 10 years and five months imprisonment for the manslaughter and kidnapping of one of his followers – 70 year old Shulai Wang.
Lucy Xia of RNZ
Wang, from Hainan, China, was found wrapped in layers of black rubbish bags in Auckland's Gulf Harbour in March 2024, eight months after she arrived in the country to follow the religious instructions of Liu.
Wang and five other women from China stayed with Liu and his family in Ōrewa, where the Crown said Wang was punished for not complying with the strict rules of the household, and later put in a suitcase, denied food and water, following a failed escape just days before her death.
On Tuesday morning, Justice Mathew Downs handed Liu the prison sentence at Auckland's High Court.
Liu's sentence, with a minimum non-parole period of 50% of his sentence, also covered Liu's convictions for interfering with human remains, perverting the course of justice and failing to give device passwords to police during a search warrant.
Details of arrests, made months after a mystery woman's body was found in a rubbish bag in the water north of Auckland, can now be reported. (Source: 1News)
Liu's wife, Lanyue Xiao, received a sentence of seven years and 11 months for kidnapping, manslaughter, perverting the course of justice and interfering with human remains.
Justice Downs didn't impose a minimum non-parole period for Xiao, acknowledging her lesser culpability compared to Liu, who made all the key decisions relating to Wang's detention and punishment.
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