Man jailed for life for torturing 19-year-old sister to death with girlfriend and accomplice

A man was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday (5 November) for fatally abusing his younger sister alongside his boss, who was also his girlfriend, and another accomplice. He was convicted of murder with common intention and sentenced to life imprisonment after choosing not to contest the charge.

Delivering his decision on Thursday (5 November), High Court Judge Aidan Xu described the case as a tragedy in which an older brother had abused his younger sister to death. The victim, Huang Baoying, looked up to the accused, Huang Bocan, believing he would care for her. Instead, he subjected her to extremely inhumane abuse that killed her. Reprimanding the accused, the judge said: "You deserve to be put away for a long time. I hope you will always remember what you have done to your sister."

Lianhe Zaobao (LHZB) previously reported that teenager Huang Baoying, who wanted to lose weight and earn money, joined a health products direct-selling company along with her older brother, Huang Bocan, 34. That decision set her on a path that ended in tragedy.

Between mid-February and 4 May 2021, Huang Bocan and his two accomplices — his girlfriend and the direct-selling company’s boss, Chee Mei Wan, 47, and fellow direct seller Lim Peng Tiong, 67 — subjected Huang Baoying to various forms of abuse in Lim’s HDB flat under the guise of “punishment”. These included confining her in a toilet, chaining her to the toilet bowl and repeatedly whipping her. The three said they did so because of her poor performance in direct selling and lack of initiative, among other reasons.

Huang Bocan also took the lead in meting out some of the punishments. Exploiting his sister’s love of food, he deliberately restricted her to one meal a day, saying this was to teach her a lesson and make her learn gratitude through hunger. Knowing how much she treasured her long hair, he deliberately cut it off and then drove her out of the home to humiliate her.

Huang Baoying eventually succumbed to the sustained abuse and died in the early hours of 5 May 2021, aged just 19. She weighed only 27.6kg when she died, having lost at least 20kg compared with her weight 11 months before the incident. A forensic pathologist determined that she died from severe malnutrition, sepsis and extensive blunt-force injuries.

In the High Court on Thursday, Huang Bocan indicated through his lawyers that he did not dispute the prosecution’s statement of facts and chose not to contest the case. The judge then convicted him of murder with common intention and sentenced him to life imprisonment.

After the court adjourned, Huang Bocan’s parents were allowed to speak briefly to their son, who was seated in the dock. Outside court afterwards, they told the media of their anguish at losing their daughter and seeing their son imprisoned.

The parents, who declined to be named, said Huang Bocan had been kind and sensible since childhood and had looked after his sister, including helping her with her schoolwork. Later, disagreements arose in the family over the siblings’ spending on direct-selling health products, and the pair left home. Their parents had not expected matters to reach this point. The family repeatedly tried to contact the siblings, but Chee always replied on their behalf, saying they were doing well.

According to the statement of facts agreed by the prosecution and defence, Chee, who is married, ran a company called Colourful Nutrifit Club, selling Herbalife health products. Huang Baoying, Huang Bocan and Lim were all members of Chee’s organisation, buying products and selling them to other members. Chee and Huang Bocan were also in a romantic relationship. He greatly admired her and often sought her advice.

In the second half of 2020, the Huang siblings left home after arguing with their father over their spending on direct-selling health products. Chee also had disputes with her husband over her direct-selling work. The siblings and Chee moved into Lim’s HDB flat at different times.

After the four began living together, Chee introduced a system of fines for anyone who failed to meet sales targets. The penalties later escalated to physical punishment. Huang Baoying was punished most often, being made to do squats almost every day, sometimes for as long as six hours.

Between mid-February and 4 May 2021, Huang Bocan, Chee and Lim escalated their punishments of Huang Baoying because her sales performance had not improved. Before her death, she was extremely weak and unable to resist. Yet Chee and Huang Bocan were dissatisfied that she remained silent during beatings and did not shed tears to show remorse. They decided to intensify the abuse, even rubbing salt into her wounds in an attempt to make her cry.

Chee also faces a charge of murder with common intention, and her case is still being heard. Lim was earlier convicted of culpable homicide and sentenced to 14 years and 11 months in prison.