Min Chen
Encyclopedia
Min Chen (born January 30, 1983) is a Chinese
visa student convicted of first-degree murder in the case of the death of Cecilia Zhang, originally missing for months and also known as Dong-Yue Zhang (張東嶽, Hanyu Pinyin: Zhāng Dōngyuè, March 30, 1994 — October 20, 2003).
Chen, a Shanghai
native who has lived in Canada
on a visa
since 2001, allegedly entered Zhang's home through a kitchen window and removed her from her home between 3:00 AM and 4:00 AM, leaving by a side door. According to police, Min Chen knew a female boarder who had lived at the Zhang home between September 2002 and March 2003 and had visited the Zhang home at least four times. Police said that Cecilia would have been comfortable in Chen's company under normal social circumstances. The remains of Dong-Yue Cecilia Zhang were found in a wooded area of Mississauga by the Credit River at Eglinton Avenue on Saturday, March 27, 2004.
At the time of Chen's kidnapping of Cecilia Zhang, Chen had already stopped his English studies at a Seneca College
campus located very close to Cecilia's home in North York, Ontario
. Chen also did not complete his Grade 12-level courses at a local private academy. Chen, whose father is an airline executive and whose mother is a Shanghai police officer, had been receiving money from his parents back in China.
Min Chen pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on May 9, 2006. According to an agreed statement
of facts read out in a Brampton
, Ontario
courthouse, Chen was failing in his college studies and feared deportation back to his native China. Being a visa student who was broke, he desperately needed $25,000 to enter into a marriage of convenience as a means of obtaining the status of permanent resident in Canada. Cecilia's death was the result of Chen's poorly planned kidnapping during the early hours of October 20, 2003 at Cecilia's home. When Cecilia tried to scream, Chen covered her face with a towel and held his hand over her mouth. Cecilia had stopped struggling by the time Chen placed her inside the trunk of his car. When Chen checked on Cecilia later on, he discovered that she had stopped breathing.
Chen was represented by well known criminal lawyer John Rosen, who had defended killer and serial rapist Paul Bernardo
. Min Chen was sentenced to life imprisonment with a chance of parole after 15 years.
Human rights
lawyers have noted that under Chinese law, when Chen has completed his sentence and is deported
back to China, he will likely face a second trial and sentence in China. Canadian law forbids this practice, which is known as double jeopardy
, while Chinese law permits it if a Chinese resident commits a crime on foreign soil. Trial and punishment in the other country is seen as a mitigating factor
, but does not preclude further imprisonment or execution in the People's Republic of China.
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
visa student convicted of first-degree murder in the case of the death of Cecilia Zhang, originally missing for months and also known as Dong-Yue Zhang (張東嶽, Hanyu Pinyin: Zhāng Dōngyuè, March 30, 1994 — October 20, 2003).
Chen, a Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
native who has lived in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
on a visa
Visa (document)
A visa is a document showing that a person is authorized to enter the territory for which it was issued, subject to permission of an immigration official at the time of actual entry. The authorization may be a document, but more commonly it is a stamp endorsed in the applicant's passport...
since 2001, allegedly entered Zhang's home through a kitchen window and removed her from her home between 3:00 AM and 4:00 AM, leaving by a side door. According to police, Min Chen knew a female boarder who had lived at the Zhang home between September 2002 and March 2003 and had visited the Zhang home at least four times. Police said that Cecilia would have been comfortable in Chen's company under normal social circumstances. The remains of Dong-Yue Cecilia Zhang were found in a wooded area of Mississauga by the Credit River at Eglinton Avenue on Saturday, March 27, 2004.
At the time of Chen's kidnapping of Cecilia Zhang, Chen had already stopped his English studies at a Seneca College
Seneca College
Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology is a Canadian public college in the greater Toronto area. Seneca College is currently Canada's largest college with approximately 108,000 students.-History:...
campus located very close to Cecilia's home in North York, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. Chen also did not complete his Grade 12-level courses at a local private academy. Chen, whose father is an airline executive and whose mother is a Shanghai police officer, had been receiving money from his parents back in China.
Min Chen pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on May 9, 2006. According to an agreed statement
Agreed statement
In the American legal system, an agreed statement is an agreement between two parties to a lawsuit or an appeal of a judgment. The agreements are always limited to cases where the dispute is a question of legal interpretation rather than a dispute concerning the facts of a case....
of facts read out in a Brampton
Brampton, Ontario
Brampton is the third-largest city in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada and the seat of Peel Region. As of the 2006 census, Brampton's population stood at 433,806, making it the 11th largest city in Canada. It is also one of Canada's fastest growing municipalities, with an average...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
courthouse, Chen was failing in his college studies and feared deportation back to his native China. Being a visa student who was broke, he desperately needed $25,000 to enter into a marriage of convenience as a means of obtaining the status of permanent resident in Canada. Cecilia's death was the result of Chen's poorly planned kidnapping during the early hours of October 20, 2003 at Cecilia's home. When Cecilia tried to scream, Chen covered her face with a towel and held his hand over her mouth. Cecilia had stopped struggling by the time Chen placed her inside the trunk of his car. When Chen checked on Cecilia later on, he discovered that she had stopped breathing.
Chen was represented by well known criminal lawyer John Rosen, who had defended killer and serial rapist Paul Bernardo
Paul Bernardo
Paul Kenneth Bernardo, also known as Paul Jason Teale , is a Canadian serial killer and rapist, known for the sexual assaults and murders he committed with his wife Karla Homolka and the serial rapes he committed in Scarborough.-Early life:Bernardo's mother, Marilyn, was the adopted daughter of a...
. Min Chen was sentenced to life imprisonment with a chance of parole after 15 years.
Human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
lawyers have noted that under Chinese law, when Chen has completed his sentence and is deported
Deportation
Deportation means the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. Today it often refers to the expulsion of foreign nationals whereas the expulsion of nationals is called banishment, exile, or penal transportation...
back to China, he will likely face a second trial and sentence in China. Canadian law forbids this practice, which is known as double jeopardy
Double jeopardy
Double jeopardy is a procedural defense that forbids a defendant from being tried again on the same, or similar charges following a legitimate acquittal or conviction...
, while Chinese law permits it if a Chinese resident commits a crime on foreign soil. Trial and punishment in the other country is seen as a mitigating factor
Mitigating factor
A mitigating factor, in law, is any information or evidence presented to the court regarding the defendant or the circumstances of the crime that might result in reduced charges or a lesser sentence.-Death penalty in the United States:...
, but does not preclude further imprisonment or execution in the People's Republic of China.