Gulf Habour body trial: Defendant’s coaching of others recorded by police

Details of how a defendant was coaching others to explain the death of Chinese woman Shulai Wang have been heard in recordings made at the house at the centre of the police investigation.

Wang’s body was found wrapped in rubbish bags in Auckland’s Gulf Harbour in March 2024, and four family members - Kaixiao Liu, his wife Lanyue Xiao and parents Xiuyun Li and Jingui Liu - are on trial for the manslaughter and kidnapping of Wang.

The Crown’s case is that Wang came to New Zealand to receive religious instructions from Liu and later died after an unsuccessful escape.

Crown prosecutor Henry Steele said about 4500 audio recordings were obtained through police surveillance devices placed at the defendants’ house in Ōrewa in North Auckland.

A court exhibit included 16 recordings from mid-July to late August.

Spoken mostly in mandarin Chinese, part of these recordings was played in court on Wednesday, with English translations being read out by Steele and police officer Zhiwei Jia who did the translation.

Liu was heard giving comprehensive instruction to Wang’s son Chunhong Wu, who’s based in China, including the time and circumstance of Wang’s death and how he should behave when confronted by authorities.

Wu was identified as part of “family 12”, one of the at least 37 families devoted to Liu’s religious group.

‘Holiday travel’ and ‘heart attack’

Wu was instructed to claim that his mother died after a heart attack while travelling, but that the local government damaged her body and he wanted to sue the local government and get compensation, including making a video to state the above.

He should also say that a family was asked to help Wang with her sea burial wishes, Liu explained.

Wu was given careful instructions on the tone, speed of talking, facial expression when he made the video, as well as to be careful not to include papayas or coconut in his video background, as it might spark questions about whether he was based in New Zealand.

Papayas and coconut are commonly-seen fruits in Hainan province in China.

The son was also asked to contact journalists in China and spread the message online, luring the journalists with some monetary rewards.

“You can say, I am going to sue them and ask for compensation. It will be a lot of money,” Liu spoke to Wu.

“I will definitely give you 10 percent or 20 percent of the compensation, all can be discussed.”

Wu was told to tell any associates that the total compensation could be 30 million, and they should be careful with what they say, otherwise they would not get anything if Wu lost the case.

Liu also told Wu that when contacted by authorities, he should try to be composed and be careful with what he said, as well as his facial expression and body language.

Wu could say that he did not want to talk because he was not feeling good, including putting his hands on the knee and taking a deep breath, Liu instructed.

“Anyone who wants to help the police solve the case must have a problem. That’s what they wrote in their tutorials. That’s what they have deeply rooted in their minds,” Liu spoke to Wu.

“You must never think that I will actively cooperate with you in the investigation and help you find the truth. As long as you express this idea, you are done, you become a suspect.”

Liu’s version of the truth to the deceased’s son

In one of the recordings, Liu told Wu his version of what happened to Wang.

He said Wang did not want to live anymore, possibly due to previous sufferings which left some trauma within her, but the “family members” all tried to help her.

Wang tried to jump from a height on 4 March 2024 and pushed two other residents of the house who came to help from height, Liu said.

Two days later, she tried to jump from a height again, as she might be perceived as trying to commit manslaughter for pushing two other people, Liu said.

On the morning of 6 March, Wang jumped to the neighbour’s yard and did not get up and could not move, and was brought back by family members and placed in the house, Liu said.

“On the first floor, let her rest in the house. Of course, let her rest in the room. But later, I don’t know what happened. She stopped breathing.”

Wu could say that Wang was old, did not have a clear mind and had some heart issues, and it was understandable that people would not call an ambulance if some elderly person died from heart failure, Liu explained.

He was told to say that he had kept regular contact with his mother and knew every detail, including claiming that Wang passed away roughly on 10 March and he only got to know that the body was found in July.

“You shall remember, from the beginning to the end, everything, you know everything, You know it all the time, locations and details,” Liu said.

“No matter how they question you, you are totally clear, understand? You never say ‘I don’t know, I am not clear’. Then it’s messed. It’s done.”

In an earlier recording with Liu and a few other women, Liu expressed his surprise about how the police traced the rice bags to him.

“This is still not any murderous evidence. This can only mean that they are dealing with this body,” Liu said.

“They think that dealing with this body is not appropriate. This is the only evidence that they can accuse of.”

Recordings played at court also showed Liu asked people to brainstorm on all details that could be asked in their story, including how Wu got to know Liu, for how long do they know each other, and Liu’s profession.

The trial continues at the Auckland High Court.

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