Seven months after the discovery of a body in a bag found in Gulf Harbour, Police revealed the identity of the victim. She was Shulai Wang, 70, of China.
Photo: Supplied / Police
* This article’s headline has been updated to remove the reference to murder. The four are accused of kidnapping and manslaughter and have never been accused of murder.
Four people charged with the kidnapping and manslaughter of a Chinese woman, whose body was found wrapped in plastic bags in the water at Auckland’s Gulf Harbour, can now be named.
Kaixiao Liu, Lanyue Xiao, Xiuyun Li and Jingui Liu, are facing a five-week trial starting late next month, over the death of 70-year-old Shulai Wang – whose body was first discovered by a fisherman in March 2024.
Wang was identified and named seven months after her body was discovered.
The defendants’ bid for interim name suppression was declined in the High Court in April last year.
They appealed that decision and their arguments were heard at a Court of Appeal hearing last month.
The defendants represented themselves in court.
The Court of Appeal has released its decision to dismiss the appeal.
Justices Susan Thomas, Cameron Mander and Andrew Becroft, have suppressed the reasons for their decision.
The defendants’ application to have their charges indefinitely put on hold was also dismissed in a High Court decision issued last month.
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