British lecturer murdered in China
Police believe expat was killed on the night he disappeared in midst of six-figure property deal
A British lecturer has been found murdered in China. Police said they believe Hilary St John Bower, 60, was killed on the evening of his disappearance after crossing the border from Hong Kong just after 5pm on Mar 30. He had been reported missing by his girlfriend. A friend suggested a property deal in which Mr Bower was involved could have provided a motive for his murder.
A BRITISH lecturer in Hong Kong who was looking forward to enjoying retirement with his six-year-old son and a windfall from a lucrative property deal has been found murdered in mainland China.
Hilary St John Bower, who disappeared three weeks ago, was months away from finishing work at Hong Kong Polytechnic and had planned to spend more time with his family at his home across the border in the Chinese city of Shenzhen.
But the 60-year-old was killed hours after entering the city on Mar 22, police said yesterday.
“I am devastated by the whole thing,” said Richard Charles, who had worked with Mr Bower as an English teacher in the former British colony for more than a decade. “He was very, very happy to be retiring, to be able to do some of his own things and with financial security,” he told The Daily Tel
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“He doted on his son, and he was really looking forward to being able to spend more time with him, which is another tragic aspect of this whole case.”
Police said they believe Mr Bower was murdered on the evening of his disappearance, soon after crossing the border into mainland China just after 5pm. He had been reported missing by his girlfriend on Mar 30.
Police do not have a motive for the murder, but Mr Charles suggested that a property deal in which his friend was expecting to receive HK$9 million (£820,000) could be involved.
Mr Charles said he did not believe that Mr Bower had received any of the cash from the deal and did not know if his friend expected it as a lump sum or through instalments.
Like many people who work in Hong Kong, Mr Bower lived in the Chinese mainland, which is within commuting distance and has far cheaper housing.
But property prices in Shenzhen have rocketed in recent years – and were said to have increased by 50 percent last year – meaning that he could have received a sizeable profit from any property sale.
Mr Bower was originally from Hitchin, Herts, but the long-term expatriate had spent years teaching in Spain, South Korea and China before arriving in Hong Kong in the mid1990s.
He has an elderly mother and a younger brother in Britain who was understood to be on his way to China.
Mr Bower had been in a relationship with his Chinese girlfriend for about 17 years, and was looking forward to spending more time with her and their son Matthew, said Mr Charles, who is originally from Pembrokeshire.
“He was intelligent, articulate, and had a great sense of humour,” he said. “He had worked very, very hard for many years and was about to retire on the back of selling this property which he bought many, many years ago.”
Mr Charles also said that the police response had been “shabby”, both in China and Hong Kong, which has a separate legal system.