Chinese Student murdered in Canada
( 2002-08-28 09:53 ) (1 )

A Chinese student studying in Canada was murdered, local police said Tuesday.

He is at least the second overseas Chinese student murdered in the Toronto area this year, a Chinese consulate official added.

Police found the body of Tang Wenfeng at 4 pm on Friday local time in his car in Toronto. A medical investigation later confirmed his identity.

Tang, 25, was studying at Seneca College. Police said he and a friend, whose name is not being released by police, were victims of an abduction-robbery in Scarborough, a suburb of Toronto. They were dragged into a red van where four men, two armed with guns and one with machete were inside, around midnight last Tuesday local time.

Tang's friend was robbed of his money and some clothes before he was hit on the head with a machete and released after being held for about an hour.

Police said Tang's friend was found staggering on a road. He was treated in hospital and is co-operating with police.

Police were investigating the kidnapping when they discovered Tang's body. They still haven't found a motive for the murder.

Tang's family in Shanghai has been notified, officials said.

Chinese Consulate General in Toronto said that they are doing everything possible to help his relatives come to Toronto as soon as possible.

The consulate is also in communication with police to push for a thorough investigation and an arrest of a suspect or suspects.

Bill Sornberger, detective sergeant in Toronto, said they are using all resources available, including the homicide squad.

Chinese consulate officials warned students and Chinese parents to take precautions when sending their children abroad to study.

They added that it is important that Chinese students studying abroad be mature enough to handle the difficulties of adjusting to a new culture.

"Some young overseas Chinese students have difficulty adapting to life abroad because the language barrier and unfamiliarity with local laws and regulations," said a consulate official who would not give his name.

He added he hopes cases like this draw greater attention to the importance of safeguarding the lives and well-being of Chinese students.

In February, the case of Tao Lin, a 19-year-old student from Wuhan in Central China's Hubei Province, who was studying at York University also in Toronto, also ignited widespread concern in Canada and in China.

Tao was murdered after she was attacked in a parking lot by a stranger who stabbed her and slit her throat. The case is still under investigation.

Yan Xiaosheng, manager of a Beijing-based construction company, whose son is studying in London, said that as a parent he was thankful that his child has the opportunity to study overseas. "But I am also more concerned about his safety, and I know that the parents of those hundreds of thousands of students studying abroad are concerned as well," he said.

Statistics show that the number of Chinese teenager students studying abroad grew at an annual rate of 40 per cent in the last three years. The number is expected to reach 50,000 this year and exceed 100,000 by 2005.