Accused told cops he shot millionaire, trial hears
Man says fight broke out after the victim expressed interest in marrying his daughter
VANCOUVER — A man accused of murdering a West Vancouver millionaire confessed to police that he shot the victim after a fight in which he objected to a suggestion by his business partner that he marry the accused’s daughter, calling him a “beast” for physically abusing his many girlfriends.
Li Zhao, 56, who has pleaded not guilty to the May 2015 seconddegree murder of Gang Yuan, 42, provided details of the crime after police officers arrived at the victim’s British Properties home and arrested him.
On Thursday, the Crown played a videotaped statement that Zhao made to police in an interview room at the Vancouver Police Department. Zhao’s lawyers are challenging the admissibility of the statement, arguing his rights were violated.
During the conversation, which involved the accused and a Mountie speaking in Mandarin, Zhao said that the shooting happened after they had discussed the invention of a gun stand that he wanted Yuan to invest in.
Zhao said he became angry when when Yuan suggested that if Zhao let him marry his daughter, he would provide him with 50 per cent of the shares in the investment.
“I thought he was joking,” Zhao told RCMP Const. Wilson Yung. “I said, ‘This is a bad joke.’ … I said: ‘This is like a beast.’ Because he beat up the girlfriends.”
Zhao said Yuan was “particularly bad-tempered” and had “tons of girlfriends” whom he would often hit.
“Once he mentioned my daughter, so I was really upset,” Zhao said.
He said that after he called a beast, Yuan hit him.
Zhao said he fell backward and grabbed a nearby hammer.
“I quickly grabbed the hammer. He said, ‘You picked up a hammer, I’ll kick you to death.’ He came over and kicked me right away. He kicked me, I struck him on his leg or foot, I didn’t see clearly,” Zhao said.
Zhao told the Mountie that when Yuan went back to grab a gun, he ran over to the larger man. “Before he could reach the gun, I hit his head. At that time, he turned around and wanted to grab my hammer. We fought over the hammer for some time. You know, I can’t beat him, he’s strong.”
The accused, who has also pleaded not guilty to interfering with human remains after Yuan was found chopped-up into more than 100 pieces, said Yuan grabbed the hammer.
“I was worried if I ran forward, the hammer would hit me if it swings. So I ran backwards, grabbed the gun and loaded the bullets. Then I pointed at him. I said: ‘Don’t move, Don’t move, I’m telling you.’ ”
Then Yuan flung the hammer at him, but missed, he told the cop.
“And then I was scared. I opened fire. After the shot, the first shot, he lifted his head and his hand high up, I was scared and shot the second time. He laid there without moving. He stopped moving, so I was confused. I thought, ‘How did this happen? This is trouble.’ I thought I should quickly clean it up.”
The trial is to continue today.