The sect leader\u2019s father agreed: \u201cFind a place inside a forest, somewhere with no people around, primaeval forest.\u201d<\/p>\n
But as the votes kept coming in, Liu didn\u2019t seem satisfied until the final suggestion: \u201cThrow into the sea.\u201d That, he confirmed, fitted God\u2019s plan.<\/p>\n
The discussion, mostly in Mandarin but translated by authorities into English, was played for jurors in the High Court at Auckland this week as prosecutors began wrapping up evidence in the ongoing kidnapping and manslaughter trial of Liu, his wife Lanyue Xiao and both of his parents.<\/p>\n
Wang\u2019s body would be found by a fisherman in Gulf Harbour, near the Whangapar\u0101oa Peninsula, four days after the discussion. Her body had been folded in half and bound with tape before it was stuffed in black rubbish bags. Also packed inside the rubbish bags were large rice bags filled with stones, intended to weigh the body down.<\/p>\n
The gruesome discovery launched a months-long, international police investigation as police tried to identify Wang and solve the mystery of her death. The first break came when police traced serial numbers on the rice bags back to Liu. But he and his wife weren\u2019t arrested until three months later, after they arrived at Auckland Airport for a short trip to China.<\/p>\n
\u2018All bad guys have their hands tied\u2019<\/p>\n
During that arrest, police confiscated Liu\u2019s laptop, which contained six recordings of group discussions or sermons in which Wang was mentioned in the days before and after her death.<\/p>\n
\u201cA traitor escaped and wanted to destroy God\u2019s house,\u201d noted one written document on Liu\u2019s laptop dated March 5.<\/p>\n
It matched other documents recovered by police suggesting that Wang had tried to climb a fence and run into a neighbour\u2019s yard that day, before other sect members caught up to her and pulled her inside.<\/p>\n
Alleged sect leader Kaixiao Liu and (from left) his wife Lanyue Xiao, his father Jingui Liu and his mother Xiuyun Li are all on trial in the High Court at Auckland, accused of participating in the homicide of 70-year-old Shulai Wang. Photos \/ Jason Dorday<\/p>\n
\u201cThe wicked are bullying the honest people,\u201d read a note on Liu\u2019s laptop from the next day. \u201cIf someone wants to destroy God\u2019s house, we should beat him to death. What happened to Shulai was actually … she killed herself.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope to control myself. I hope that when I am rational, I can give her more mercy and let her live. Remind her: Don\u2019t pee or poop on the bed, otherwise you will sleep in your shit and feel uncomfortable. If you want to kill members of God\u2019s family, you want to defect, you want to destroy God\u2019s house, your hands and feet must be controlled to prevent you from doing evil. Your mouth is still open so that you can eat. If your mouth screams, it will be sealed immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another note added: \u201cAt night, we need to tie it tighter and reinforce it. Lock the garage from the inside. The neighbour is too close, in case screams, get something metal … Hands must be tied tightly, all bad guys have their hands tied.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018I see evil\u2019<\/p>\n
In a recording from that same day, Liu said Wang\u2019s \u201ccase is a result of long-term listening to the dark side of the inner world and not listening to God\u2019s way\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw her evil thoughts a long time ago,\u201d Liu said. \u201cOf course, I can see the evil opinions in everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
He suggested Wang had tried to push another member of the household off the roof of their \u014crewa home so that it would be easier for her to escape.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t blame the devil, this evil thought is the thought of a human,\u201d Liu went on to explain. \u201cThe demons outside cannot enter our yard. God has blocked the demons outside, do you understand? God\u2019s gate has a protective layer around our house. Therefore, it is to say, if there are evil thoughts, I tell you the truth, it is the evil within the person himself.\u201d<\/p>\n
He ordered that her food be withheld.<\/p>\n
The body of Shulai Wang, 70, was found floating in Auckland’s Gulf Harbour. Photo \/ New Zealand Police<\/p>\n
\u201cAnyway, she is just lying there without moving [so] will not consume energy, right?\u201d Liu explained. \u201cIf a person doesn\u2019t consume anything, going a few days without eating or drinking wouldn\u2019t cause any problems at all. Unless the evil thoughts inside her are too large and kill herself.\u201d<\/p>\n
It is then that his father suggested putting Wang in handcuffs, but Liu responded that they were difficult to get in New Zealand. <\/p>\n
\u201cFind some metal wire or something, or steel wire,\u201d he instructed his father, before adding: \u201cBoth hands and feet, reinforce both hands and feet. Just to hold her in place.\u201d<\/p>\n
Liu\u2019s father, who speaks in a different dialect, was translated as having suggested: \u201cThere is a type that gets tighter whenever [it] moves, and once it\u2019s tight, she doesn\u2019t dare to move.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Still screaming\u2019<\/p>\n
Hours later, just after midnight, Liu was recorded talking in whispered tones to others in the house.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe key point is justifiable defence, do you know?\u201d he said, seemingly in reference to Wang. \u201cIt was not like this in the beginning. She was testing us step by step and violating us step by step, wants more destruction step by step.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was supposed to be on the bed originally, right? Step by step. Didn\u2019t tape her mouth. Reminded her not to cry\/scream. As she kept crying\/screaming, stick on her mouth then. She is still crying\/screaming with a sealed mouth, stuff a towel then. If she is still crying\/screaming after stuffing a towel, then have to put into the box\/suitcase. This is more fixed, more soundproof. But we are completely forced to defend and protect God\u2019s home.\u201d<\/p>\n
That recording ended with Liu inviting the group to quietly sing together.<\/p>\n
Sect leader turned manslaughter defendant Kaixiao Liu lived in an Orewa home with his family and followers. Photo \/ Dean Purcell<\/p>\n
On March 8, Liu held the house meeting in which he solicited suggestions for disposing of the body. He repeated suggestions that Wang \u201cacted out evil thoughts\u201d by \u201ctrying to kill a person in the divine family\u201d, which he described as attempted murder. But she had killed herself, he insisted, by rupturing internal organs as she jumped over a wall while trying to escape.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf she repented, God would save her,\u201d Liu explained to his followers. \u201cSo, giving her some quiet time is to let her repent, but she did not repent … All the resentment and curses she sent out made her die faster.\u201d<\/p>\n
He insisted to the group that the restraints were for Wang\u2019s benefit, both to stop her from \u201cdoing evil again\u201d and to keep her still so that her organs wouldn\u2019t rupture.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe wanted to help her, to help her stay quiet,\u201d he said. \u201cEverything we did is justifiable defence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018A troublesome thing\u2019<\/p>\n
Thinking back, Liu said, he now realised that the vegetables they grew on the roof of the home had been \u201cdeliberately destroyed\u201d by Wang with her \u201cevil thoughts\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou see, Shulai, who didn\u2019t obey the way of the God, didn\u2019t obey the rules, she is dead now \u2013 in the garage, already dead,\u201d Liu told his followers. \u201cThe body will become stinky and rot … Now we are going to deal with this body.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are your opinions? What do you think we should do with the body, the thing left behind by this evil person? How do you see it? Everyone give your opinions in one sentence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kaixiao Liu (right) and his wife, Lanyue Xiao, appeared in the North Shore District Court in November 2024 after being charged with the manslaughter of Shulai Wang. Photo \/ George Block<\/p>\n
Liu encouraged the group immediately afterwards, saying each suggestion had been good.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut putting it in a forest, it would be far too easy to be discovered by others, do you understand?\u201d he said. \u201cIf discovered by others, it will be a troublesome thing. Do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
A crematorium was also not an option, he said, because one would require a death certificate.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe also can\u2019t find a place to burn it by ourselves,\u201d he continued. \u201cThere will be too much smoke, it will be very eye-catching. People might even call the police and have the fire service come, thinking a house is on fire.<\/p>\n
\u201c… It takes a long time, and people will obviously smell the burning meat … The smell is different from burning wood, you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
Throwing her body in the ocean, preferably off a cliff into deep water, would be both in accordance with the Bible and the quickest option, he concluded.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs long as we find an opportunity, when no one is around, we can get this done properly, do you understand?\u201d he asked. \u201cOkay, now it\u2019s time to take action.\u201d<\/p>\n
Liu outlined a detailed plan for how to prepare the body and then how the group would divide \u2013 choosing which adults would help dump the body, with children to accompany them so they would look less suspicious.<\/p>\n
\u2018Parasite\u2019<\/p>\n
In the days that followed, Liu would continue to give sermons emphasising that Wang was responsible for her own death. He described her as a lazy \u201cslug\u201d or a \u201cparasite\u201d who pretended to be sick or tired and thought she could live off the group\u2019s charity for the next decade or so.<\/p>\n
They were better off without her \u2013 the whole group feeling renewed energy as if the whole experience had been a vaccination against evil, he said.<\/p>\n
Liu also began to strategise what members of the household should do if police ever came to them asking questions.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t need to say how long she had lived afterwards, just say that she fell to her death,\u201d he said. \u201cWe carried her back, and after carrying her back, we wrapped her up and buried at sea. Do you understand?\u201d<\/p>\n
But he also emphasised that followers should keep their mouths shut \u2013 not talking about the incident with each other and especially not with police.<\/p>\n
Kaixiao Liu (left) and Lanyue Xiao appear in the North Shore District Court on July 1, 2024, after they were arrested at Auckland Airport on a charge of tampering with a body. Photo \/ Dean Purcell<\/p>\n
\u201cIf anyone asks you questions, some of you should not talk, just smile instead, you know?\u201d he explained. \u201cJust a silly smile … The more you say, the more likely you slip up. Just smiling. [With] smiling, there is no aggression, right?<\/p>\n
\u201cJust put your hands together and smile like this. Oh, this is a friendly, friendly, sending out friendly energy, understand? There is no aggression at all. He won\u2019t take you away, understand? But if you don\u2019t smile there, look weird, or say one or two words that make people feel suspicion, they will definitely arrest you, understand? Whether they judge you as mentally ill or an illegal immigrant, [they] will definitely lock you up in jail.\u201d<\/p>\n
After Liu\u2019s arrest, his followers did exactly that. They were eventually deported after police deemed them of no use to the investigation.<\/p>\n
\u2018Lock the tent\u2019<\/p>\n
In a follow-up meeting on March 27, about two weeks after Wang\u2019s body was discovered, Liu addressed a select group of people for what he called a \u201cspecial training camp for Kingdom of God generals\u201d. The subject was again Wang\u2019s perceived transgressions.<\/p>\n
One follower noted that she had seen Wang digging through rubbish bins in the house looking for food in the days before her death. Her corpse weighed just 27kg when it was examined by a pathologist.<\/p>\n
\u201cA few days before the traitor escaped, I gave the order to lock the tent,\u201d Liu noted. \u201cWhy? If the tent was not locked, when you woke up in the morning, the traitor might be gone, and [other followers] might be dead … She could strangle you two to death in any way she wants when you are asleep or hide a knife on her body and cut you.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe could quietly climb over the wall and escape at night. Right? But locking the tent stopped her from thinking about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
He had made it perfectly clear to Wang, he said, that if there were any major violations then food would be withheld. It was a fortuitous decision, he suggested.<\/p>\n
Had she eaten that morning, he said, she might have had enough strength to run away more quickly, and other followers might not have caught her.<\/p>\n
Liu, who is on bail, has not been in court for the past two days as the recordings were played. His absence has been excused, Justice Mathew Downs told the jury.<\/p>\n
Testimony is expected to resume tomorrow.<\/p>\n