Tips pour in as police probe woman’s death
Woman with links to self-help group was dropped off at hospital with fatal injuries
Homicide investigators looking into the suspicious death of a 41-year-old citizen of China who was living in Surrey say they are getting tips after appealing for information about the activities of a group known by the names Create Abundance and Golden Touch.
Sgt. Frank Jang of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team earlier said the deceased, Bo Fan, is believed to have been associated with the group in B.C. and they are interested in knowing more about her and her links to the group.
He described her death as suspicious and not random. Create Abundance/Golden Touch was started in China and focuses on wellness or self-help through tapping energy in nature, according to videos and other information posted online, apparently by the group.
It has been offering expensive classes and holding special events promoting its view on finding wealth and inner happiness to Chinese-speaking students in many places in the world, including in B.C.
Jang said on Thursday the police call for information from the public about Create Abundance/ Golden Touch and Fan, who was dropped off at a Metro hospital with fatal injuries, has yielded many tips, mostly with information found online about Create
Abundance/Golden Touch. The group was started in China by a woman named Zhang Xinyue, according to online reports.
She also wrote a book about her philosophy that was called Create Abundance.
Locally, Create Abundance International Institute Inc. was incorporated in B.C. in 2014 with directors Guo Zhong and Zhang Dazhun at 16682 27th Ave. in Surrey, according to provincial government documents.
The address has been used in past online posts by the group when marketing seminars and events.
It is a two-minute walk from the location where police said Fan was last seen.
The website for the B.C.-based Create Abundance, which is no longer online, offered packages such as a two-day US$10,000 bundle of courses on seeking financial prosperity, happiness and influence, according to an archived version of the website.
No one answered the door when Postmedia News went to the Surrey home, which is assessed at $3 million, on Thursday afternoon. A black Cadillac Escalade sat in the driveway, its licence plate covered with a blue surgical mask.
The lawn looked recently cut and rose bushes outside the home were well-maintained.
It is one of 17 multimillion-dollar homes on the block, almost all with swimming pools.
Neighbours declined to speak on the record about events at the home. But they told Postmedia News they were concerned that issues at the house and another affiliated house on the block had not been addressed by police, bylaw officers or government. Years ago, police told neighbours not to confront residents or their visitors, they said. In recent days, detectives collected security camera footage from their homes.
The neighbours described seeing a constant stream of luxury cars parked at the property — Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Maseratis, Porsches. “If you watch it overnight, it’s a smorgasbord of $100,000, $200,000 cars,” said one neighbour.
The City of Surrey’s bylaw department said it has received complaints in recent years about noise and illegal use by a business in a residential area. The latest complaint was filed on March 21, it said, but no violation was found.
Create Abundance director Zhang Dazhun is also listed in land title records as owning a property called Mineral Springs Resort on Salt Spring Island and two single-family homes in Langley that together are valued at around $5 million.
IHIT has said it is working with the Chinese consulate in Vancouver to inform Fan’s family.
Asked if it had handled any complaints or knew of any information about Create Abundance/Golden Touch in Vancouver, the consulate issued a statement: “The case is under investigation by the police and the consulate has no further comments.”