Death of Mi Gao Huang Chen

Mi Gao Huang Chen was a British Chinese man who was attacked on 23 April 2005 by a large group of youths outside the Chinese takeaway he ran in Scholes, Wigan, Greater Manchester; he died of his injuries on 28 April at the age of 41.^[1] The police arrested 23 people in connection with the attack;^[2] four of these were eventually convicted of murder.^[3]

Background

Huang Chen was born in China, and had moved to the UK several years before his death.^[4] In 2004 he and his girlfriend, Jia Ming Yah, who was known as Eileen Jia, bought the Superb Hut takeaway after the previous owner abandoned it because of the harassment. In the months before the attack, the couple reported to the police several incidents of antisocial behaviour, including racial abuse and attacks on 22 April that left a smashed window; Jia later said the police response to these incidents was lacking.^[5]

Attack and death

On the night of the attack, Huang Chen, Jia, and their chef, wielding weapons, had confronted a group of youths who had gathered outside the takeaway, chasing them onto a housing estate. At some point, a teenage girl was allegedly assaulted. The trio retreated, and Huang Chen was attacked by the youths, who by then had obtained their own weapons. During the attack—which lasted 15 minutes, was captured on camera, and was described by the prosecution as "forceful, deliberate and plain to see"—Huang Chen was punched, kicked, had his head stamped on, and was attacked with the weapons. The coverage shows a girl throwing a branch at Jia, and Jia's attempts to protect Huang Chen.^[6] Huang Chen fell into a coma, and was taken to Hope Hospital (now Salford Royal), where he died on 28 April.^[4] The pathologist who examined the body found that it had a fractured skull, a broken jaw, and a partly crushed brain; and said the cause of death was trauma to the head.^[7]

Trial

Twenty-three youths were arrested in connection with the attack.^[2] Five boys and a girl were charged with murder, and several others were charged with a range of offences.^[8] Jia was also charged, with affray and assault;^[9] her charges were later dropped.^[5] The trial began at Liverpool Crown Court in October 2005,^[2] by which time two boys, Jason Hughes and Jamie Stephens, had already pleaded guilty to murder. Two more boys, Anthony Dunleavy and Joe Sankey, were convicted of murder. Another boy was cleared, and the girl was acquitted after pleading guilty to violent disorder.^[10] Stephens received a sentence of 8 years and 6 months, Hughes 9 years, Sankey 9 years and 9 months, and Dunleavy 10 years. The judge described the four as having "acted far worse than a pack of wild dogs". Eight other people were also sentenced for their involvement in the death.^[11]

Aftermath

The death contributed to the development of a number of schemes and groups designed to address crime in the local area.^[12] Hsiao-Hung of The Guardian said the attack was part of a trend of increasing anti-Chinese violence in the country.^[13] Jia and some in the Chinese community saw the attack as racially motivated, saying that the youths were white.^[2][14] Bobby Chan, chairperson of Min Quan, and Suresh Grover, director of the Monitoring Group, said the police had a tendency to fail to support Chinese victims such as Jia: "it seemed that most criminal justice agencies froze when it came applying the most basic of the Lawrence Inquiry recommendations to Chinese victims".^[15] Detective chief inspector Steve Crimins of Greater Manchester Police said the attack was not racially motivated, and that "[t]o say that any failure to deal with previous incidents led directly to the death of Mr Chen is ludicrous".^[5] The Institute of Race Relations considers the death to have a "(known or suspected) racial element".^[16] In May 2011 Sankey had his sentence reduced to eight years and six months.^[17]

References

1. ^ "Shopkeeper killed by teenage gang". BBC News. 29 April 2005. Accessed 18 August 2011.
2. ^ ^{a b c d} "Hidden from public view?".
3. ^ "Four boys killed takeaway owner". BBC News. 9 November 2005. Accessed 18 August 2011.
4. ^ ^{a b} "Teenage gang murder: Four released on bail". The Daily Telegraph. 30 April 2005. Accessed 18 August 2011. Archived 20 August 2011.
5. ^ ^{a b c} Pai, Hsiao-Hung; Lewis, Paul. "Girlfriend blames police as 'racist' killers jailed". The Guardian. 17 December 2005. Accessed 18 August 2011.
6. ^ "Shop owner was 'beaten to death'". BBC News. 25 October 2005. Accessed 18 August 2011.
   • For that it lasted 15 minutes, see: "Shopkeeper killed by teenage gang". BBC News. 29 April 2005. Accessed 18 August 2011.
   • Girl being assaulted: Carter, Helen. "Teenagers beat man to death outside takeaway". The Guardian. 10 November 2005. Accessed 18 August 2011.
7. ^ "Head injuries 'killed shop owner'". BBC News. 28 October 2005. Accessed 18 August 2011.
8. ^ "Two arrests over takeaway murder". BBC News. 6 May 2005. Accessed 18 August 2011.
9. ^ "Woman charged over takeaway death". BBC News. 6 July 2005. Accessed 18 August 2011.
   • See also: "Committe Report: Anti-social behaviour - Scholes area". Wigan Council. 6 October 2005. Accessed 21 August 2011. Archived 20 August 2011.
10. ^ "Four boys killed takeaway owner". BBC News. 9 November 2005. Accessed 18 August 2011.
    • For their names, see: "Takeaway murder teenagers named". BBC News. 10 November 2005. Accessed 18 August 2011.
11. ^ "'Wild dogs' murder youths jailed". BBC News. 16 December 2005. Accessed 18 August 2011.
12. ^ "Committe Report: Anti-social behaviour - Scholes area". Wigan Council. 6 October 2005. Accessed 21 August 2011. Archived 20 August 2011.
13. ^ Pai, Hsiao-Hung. "Alarm over surge in anti-Chinese violence". The Guardian. 31 May 2005. Accessed 19 August 2011.
14. ^ "Call for National Inquiry into Treatment of Chinese Victims of Race Hatred". Dimsum. Accessed 18 August 2011. Archived 20 August 2011.
15. ^ "Hidden from public view?".
    • The Macpherson report into the death of Stephen Lawrence found that the Metropolitan Police Service was institutionally racist, and made recommendations to address the issue.
16. ^ "Deaths with a (known or suspected) racial element 2000 onwards". Institute of Race Relations. Accessed 21 August 2011. Archived 20 August.
    • See also: "'Race Attacks Increasing'". Sky News. 30 November 2005. Accessed 21 August 2011. Archived 20 August 2011.
17. ^ "Wigan murderer's minimum term reduced". BBC News. 6 May 2011. Accessed 18 August 2011.

Sources

• "Hidden from public view?" Racism against the UK Chinese populationPDF (521 KB). Monitoring Group and University of Hull. pp. 3–5. Accessed 18 August 2011. Archived 20 August 2011.