Lawyer for victim's family may try to get cash found in killer's Richmond condo
The lawyer for the family of a man strangled during a botched 2015 kidnapping may go after cash found recently in a condo that the paroled killer shared with his wife.
Lawyer Mark Thompson said he learned from a recent Postmedia News story that police found tens of thousands of dollars along with chemicals used to make fentanyl and methamphetamine in the waterfront Richmond condo where killer Tian Yi (Eddie) Zhang was living after leaving prison last fall.
Thompson represents the parents of Peng Sun, who was strangled accidentally by a zap strap around his neck while Zhang held him for ransom in a North Vancouver basement in September 2015.
In August 2020, Thompson won a B.C. Supreme Court judgment on behalf of his clients Cang Sun and Hua Li, which ordered Zhang and others involved in the kidnapping to pay almost $400,000 to the parents.
The bulk of the cash — $306,772 — was “for monies paid as a ransom to Tian Yi (Eddie) Zhang.”
Thompson said none of the money has been paid to the parents, who live in China.
Last month, Postmedia reported on a lawsuit filed by the B.C. director of civil forfeiture against Zhang and his wife, Ya Ran Li, seeking forfeiture of Li's $3.2 million condo, plus $53,650 found during a police search on Dec. 20, 2023.
Also located in the fifth-floor unit were boxes of precursor chemicals, lab equipment and a money counting machine, which the director alleges are all “instruments of criminal activity.”
Neither Zhang nor Li has been charged, but the Parole Board of Canada ordered Zhang to move into a halfway house because of the new allegations.
Zhang filed a response to the government lawsuit on April 23, admitting that he has an “ownership interest” in the money and in the cash-counting machine.
But he denied that either the cash or the machine are instruments of criminal activity, as alleged. He also claimed that Richmond RCMP violated his Charter rights during the search.
Thompson said Zhang appears to be admitting in the response that the money is at least partly his.
“I do want to put some sort of garnisheeing order on somebody for that,” Thompson said of the cash. He may also file a lien on the condo, owned by Li, in case some of the missing ransom money was used as a down payment.
Thompson said he recently contacted his clients to tell them about the developments in the case.
“Every time the parole board sends something or something like this comes up, I do feel bound to contact them … and then it creates a lot of bad memories obviously,” Thompson said.
During the call, the father recounted his son's last words to him about how the captors were giving him just 20 seconds to arrange for the ransom money to be sent.
“And then Eddie Zhang was counting down the 20 seconds,” Thompson said. “And that was the last conversation with his son. So every time it comes up, you can imagine what it feels like for the father.”
Zhang pleaded guilty to manslaughter, unlawful confinement and extortion in connection with Sun's kidnapping. In February 2017 he was sentenced to 11 years, 10 months in custody. He was granted full parole on Nov. 1, 2023.