A 43-year-old Chinese national who murdered a sex worker in May last year has been sentenced to life imprisonment by Suva High Court Judge, Justice Daniel Goundar.
While sentencing Wang Qi Yong, Justice Goundar said the victim was a 33-year-old woman from China and was providing sexual services from a residential property in Namadi Heights.
He said the man had been in Fiji for about a year working on a fishing vessel.
Yong first contacted the victim through social media where he arranged with the victim to meet her at her residence on the night of 12th May last year for sexual services.
Justice Goundar said the victim welcomed him and provided sexual services where he slept at her residence that night.
He said the following morning when the Yong woke up, the victim offered him further sexual services to which the offender agreed.
Yong offered a payment of $300 to the victim for the services, but she demanded an extra $100 and when the offender refused to pay the extra money, the woman prevented him from leaving the bedroom by locking the door and blocking his way.
Justice Goundar said Yong and the victim got into a physical fight where he grabbed her neck with his hands and strangled her.
He said the victim was a young woman living and working in the sex industry, which is a risky business.
The judge said the court has not been advised of her circumstances in her home country for her to enter into the sex industry in a foreign land but she was vulnerable and she lost her life working in the sex industry.
Yong had spent about 1 year 3 months in remand.
Justice Goundar said the State can decide to either let Yong serve his sentence in Fiji or to have him deported to China.
