Hello Kitty Murder

Perhaps one of the most straightforward, but gruesome murder cases in global history falls under a media given name: The Hello Kitty Murder. While silly in name, the circumstances of the case are truly sadistic. Which is why, for the first time on this blog, I advise viewer discretion. Especially if you have a weak stomach.

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In 1999 Hong Kong, a twenty three year old woman by the name of Fan Man-Yee was abducted from the Romance Villa Nightclub. Working as a hostess, Man-Yee was accustomed to the low lives that frequented the establishment. Whether it be drug addicts, drug dealers, criminals, or prostitutes the doors were always open. Yet, the deadliest customers were that of the Chinese Crime Syndicate: The Triads, and it just so happened that a Triads member, Man-Lok, was engaging in sexual affairs with Man-Yee. While it seemed like the no strings attached kind of romance, their relationship would turn on a dime when Man-Yee stole Man-Lok’s wallet. Inside, was $4000 dollars, and while the prospect of stealing from a crime syndicate seems foolish, Man-Yee thought little of the consequences.

Though the theft remained unnoticed for some time, Man-Lok eventually took notice of the missing funds and after discovering that Man-Yee was responsible for the thievery, Man-Lok demanded she return the stolen $4000 along with an additional $26000. Unable to repay this large of a debt, Man-Lok arranged a new plan. One that inevitably led to Man-Yee’s death.

With the help of two friends, Man-Lok, Leung Shung-Cho, and Leung Wai-Lu kidnapped Man-Yee. While it’s reported that the men planned on holding Man-Yee prisoner until she could pay off her debt, that plan quickly devolved. After drugging Man-Yee with “Ice”, the street name for methamphetamine Hydrochloride, the trio took some themselves. While under the influence of the drugs the three men went on to torture their victim, beat her, and ask her to smile through the pain. But the atrocities of these individuals don’t stop there.

When a fourth member joined the abuse, Man-Lok’s unidentified 14 year old girlfriend, the cruelty of their torture escalated to new heights. The group of Triad members reportedly dumped boiling oil over Man-Yee’s feet, beat her with a stick until they could hear her ribs break, urinate in her face, force feed Man-Yee human feces, and hang her in chains before beating her with a metal pole. The list of tortures goes on but many are too graphic too explain, and even investigators don’t know the full extent of Man-Yee’s long endured month of abuse.

And though it feels almost wrong to say it, Man-Yee thankfully passed away shortly after a month spent in the Triads torture room. She would no longer have to endure their sadistic fun, but even when dead, the Triads found ways of torturing Man-Yee. After Man-Lok’s fourteen year old girlfriend found Man-Yee’s lifeless body, the group dismembered her in a bathtub with a hand saw. When the limbs were effectively removed, the criminals wrapped up the individual parts in newspaper before cramming them into a freezer, and boiling the skin off Man-Yee’s skull. Once the bone was clean, Man-Lok would sewed the evidence inside a plush Hello-Kitty doll. Why? He was a very big fan of the adorable cat.

Once finished with that task, the group set out on a collective effort to get rid of Man-Yee’s body. They fed what they could to dogs, and what they couldn’t wound up in soup passed out to the homeless. I shudder to think about those poor clueless souls having to consume the flesh of another person under the guise of a generous soul offering a warm meal. Unfortunately, by all accounts, the murder would have been effectively covered up, but thankfully Man-Lok’s girlfriend would admit their crimes to the police. She claimed to have experienced recurring, vivid, and horrifying nightmares where she was visited by Man-Yee’s ghost. With lack of sleep, terror, guilt, and shame, she could no longer keep the Triads’ secret.

After some convincing, officers would make their way to the Triads’ plush layer to find a single tooth, remnants of Man-Yee’s organs, and to their horror-a skull sewn into the plush head of Hello Kitty. The criminals were inevitably arrested and tried. While the court was unable to prove that it was, in fact, Man-Yee they killed, the trio was incarcerated for manslaughter. The group has option for parole in 2020.

However, despite this victory, and justice, the public was more caught up on the doll than Man-Yee’s horrific murder. Reports say that people were more disturbed by Man-Lok’s use of a Hello Kitty doll in his crimes than his use of torture. While that statement doesn’t apply directly to every individual experiencing the case through mass media, it did describe the majority. What I find odd about this, is the association of horror when an object seen as ‘innocent’ or ‘pure’ becomes corrupt or demonized. As if that’s somehow worse of a crime than torturing and murdering Man-Yee. Nevertheless, the Hello Kitty case remains infamous both for the plush it’s named after, and the atrocities that took place. Thankfully, this is a case that was solved, and it’s a relief to know that justice was served where it was due.