Woman testifies at inquiry about deadly attack on her acupuncturist
The last words a city woman heard her acupuncturist utter before he was slain was a denial to her husband that they were having an affair, court heard Wednesday.
Yujuan Liang testified that moments after hearing the comments from Dr. Tiejun Huang she emerged from behind a curtain where she was receiving acupuncture treatment to find him dead.
The woman was giving evidence at the preliminary inquiry of her now ex-husband, Jin Qing Huang (no relation to the deceased) before provincial court Judge Bruce Fraser.
While publication bans at such hearings are mandatory if sought by the defence, Huang’s lawyers, Adriano Iovinelli and Ben Leung, did not seek one in this case.
Huang, 43, is charged with firstdegree murder in the death last June 16 of the acupuncturist.
Liang, who testified at the hearing through a Cantonese interpreter, said she was at the clinic that afternoon for acupuncture and massage therapy treatments related to a car accident.
She said she was lying on the bed behind a curtain with needles still in her back when she heard her husband’s voice.
“He said in a very loud voice, a very loud tone, ‘who asked you to have an affair with my wife?’” Liang told Crown prosecutor Trevor Fik.
She said the doctor quietly responded.
“He replied in a very weak tone, a very fragile tone ‘I haven’t had an affair with your wife,’” the translator said, dropping her voice when saying the doctor’s direct quote.
“That’s the only phrase that I heard from Dr. Huang, since the incident happened until the end of his life,” Liang testified.
Liang said when she emerged from her bed, she saw the bloodied victim on the floor and her husband sitting nearby.
“He didn’t do anything,” she said of the accused. “He just sat there calmly.” She earlier told Fik she had nothing other than a patient/doctor relationship with the deceased.
Meanwhile, medical examiner Bamidele Adeagbo testified the deceased bled to death after suffering 88 sharp force injuries.
Fraser ordered Huang to stand trial as charged, after Iovinelli said the defence was not challenging committal to trial.
Huang will return to court on July 21.