Chinese takeaway murder: Man jailed for killing Wenjing Lin
- Published
A man has been jailed for a minimum of 30 years for murdering a 16-year-old girl in a Chinese takeaway.
Chun Xu, 32, of no fixed address, was found guilty of strangling Wenjing Lin at the Blue Sky takeaway in Ynyswen, Treorchy, Rhondda Cynon Taf on 5 March.
He was also convicted of the attempted murder of Wenjing's stepfather Yongquan Jiang during a trial at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court.
He was sentenced to life and will serve a minimum of 30 years.
The trial heard Xu was considered to be a close family friend but he owed them money and wanted "revenge" on Wenjing's mother.
He strangled the schoolgirl as her parents slept nearby.
He then lured her stepfather into the basement of the takeaway and repeatedly stabbed him with two knives before attempting suicide by cutting his own throat.
Xu refused to enter the dock for sentencing but Judge Paul Thomas QC told him: "You cruelly murdered an innocent 16-year-old girl and you killed her as an act of revenge on her mother."
Wenjing's mother, Meifang Xu, told the court, via an interpreter, that even though her daughter was no longer here, "every morning I still wake up and make her breakfast. I still make her a cup of tea every night and put it in her empty bedroom".
She described Wenjing as her "walking stick", someone who would translate for the family. She said the family now struggle to run their business without Wenjing's English language skills.
The judge told Xu: "You will be in your 60s before you can even apply for parole to be released. That will be in the year 2051.
"You may never leave prison if it is not deemed safe and appropriate to release you."