Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Family of man murdered in China want his kids in UK
Children living with killer wife’s parents
THE parents of a man murdered by his Chinese wife are battling for custody of the couple’s two children.
The youngsters’ mother Weiwei Fu was jailed for life this month for stabbing her estranged husband Michael Simpson to death at his Shanghai apartment.
Both children – Jack, seven, and Alice, six – now live with the killer’s family in China. But bereaved Ian and Linda Simpson say they will have a far better quality of life and education in Britain.
Ian said: “We lost our son and feel we can’t lose the children as well. They’re too precious.
“Michael took them round the world, gave them a western view and planned a university education for them. They now live in a one-bedroom flat containing five people, including their grandparents and cousin, in a small town. We can give them the life Michael wanted for them. We’d make sure they stayed in touch with their Chinese relatives.” Michael, 34, met and married Fu after moving to China as an executive with retailer Next but the pair split up.
A custody hearing is due in weeks. The killer’s family are understood to deny claims they want £60,000 to hand over Jack and Alice. The children are said to have been told their mum and dad are “working abroad”.
Ian, of Hartest, Suffolk, said: “That’s the lie they’ve been given but they’ll find out eventually. It’s terrible.”
The Simpsons want Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt to intervene in the case during his visit to China this weekend.