TELL ALL: The circumstances leading up to the death of Meiying Gao-Chen
With his wife in his arms, Mr Chen ran to his vehicle. Clinging to a glimmer of hope, he rushed her to Mediclinic Newcastle.
Caught in the crossfire; an armed robbery gone wrong.
Meiying Gao-Chen was gunned down at her store in Bob Shopping Centre, oSizweni on October 9.
After noticing a group of men lurking outside the store at about 10am, she contacted a local security company for assistance. A vehicle was dispatched to the area, and remained ready and waiting until 12.30pm.
“She thought the situation had calmed,” explained spokesperson for the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Municipal Councillor, Alex Liu. “She told the security guard he could leave to patrol another area.”
Target acquired
Shortly after the store was no longer under a watchful eye, about nine armed men stormed the shopping centre. In groups of three, the perpetrators reportedly bombarded three Chinese-owned stores.
Within seconds, the suspects rushed into Mrs Gao-Chen’s store. Amid the commotion, she sustained a gunshot wound to her shoulder.
She ducked behind the till, but the damage was already done. She was shot in the head; the bullet going straight through her brain.
“She had no chance of survival,” said Cllr Liu.
The victim’s husband, Fuping Chen received the call just after 1pm. At the time of the robbery, he was looking after another shop at a mall nearby.
“Mr Chen had just delivered lunch to his wife and left,” said an emotional Cllr Liu. “That was the last time he saw her alive.”
Her final moments
With his wife in his arms, Mr Chen ran to his vehicle. Clinging to a glimmer of hope, he rushed her to Mediclinic Newcastle.
Cllr Liu received word of what had happened, and immediately contacted Ferdie Alberts who referred him to a local doctor.
“I called the doctor and asked him about her injury. He told me she was dead even before she reached the hospital.”
Realising all hope was lost, a crestfallen Cllr Liu made his way to the hospital.
“When I arrived, all I could do was try to comfort the family. It was heartbreaking!” he exclaimed.
He notified the Chinese Consul-General,Wang Jianzhou, who was appalled by the ordeal.
“Mr Jianzhou contacted the KwaZulu-Natal provincial police commissioner, Lieutenant-General Mmamonnye Ngobeni for assistance.”
Cllr Liu thanked the staff at Mediclinic for going above and beyond in their efforts to comfort the family.
“They didn’t ask for money; they tried to assist the family and police as best they could. A special thanks to Sister Singh and the staff who were in the emergency room at the time,” he said.
The Chinese community is heartbroken by Mrs Gao-Chen’s tragic passing. They claimed she was shot ‘execution style’.
“We have mixed feelings of sadness and anger; sad for the loss and angered by the execution style murder. We cannot understand how a human being could point a gun at an unarmed lady and shoot her in the head like an execution,” concluded Cllr Liu.
The community vowed to assist police in any way possible to ensure the culprits were brought to book. In the meantime, the incident remains the subject of police investigations.
While words fail us during this time, the Newcastle Advertiser wishes to extend its sincere condolences to the family of the victim.
