A Coquitlam man who murdered his wife and tried to cover it up by hiding her body in a suitcase and dumping it in the Fraser River is prepared to accept his punishment, says his lawyer.
On Friday, 36-year-old Zhong-ming (James) Mou was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 14 years after admitting to beating and strangling 27-yearold Yating (Lancy) Hu.
"Mr. Mou believes the sentence is a fair one," Mou's lawyer, David Milburn, said outside B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster.
Court heard that the couple had separated in May 2011 and were embroiled in a bitter dispute over custody of their sons, now four and three years old. He wanted shared custody or reconciliation, while she wanted sole custody of the children.
Mou believed his wife was not a good mother and thought she was using the children against him.
"He wanted very much to be a large part of the children's lives ... to make sure they were being raised properly," Milburn said.
On July 15, 2011, the couple were discussing custody on the phone and getting nowhere, so Mou invited his wife to their Coquitlam home. They continued to talk, but their opinions still differed.
When Hu went to the washroom around 5 a.m., Mou got a metal bar from his home gym. After one more unsuccessful appeal, Mou used the bar to beat his wife. He then strangled her with an electrical cord. Mou stuffed his wife's body in a suitcase and cleaned up.
He put the suitcase in his SUV and drove his children around with it in the trunk. When the body began to decompose and smell, he turned on the air conditioning.
After two days, he disposed of evidence and dumped the suitcase in the Fraser River in Richmond. Fishermen found it on Aug. 27, 2011.
Milburn said Mou concealed what he had done so that he could continue to raise his kids.
"He led a life of quiet desperation haunted by his conscience," Milburn said.
Mou was arrested on Sept. 9, 2011, and shortly thereafter confessed to the police.
In his decision, Justice Robert Crawford said everyone who knew Hu, "from the closest to the most distant, are devastated."
A conviction for second-degree murder comes with an automatic life sentence, but the period of time before an offender can apply for parole varies. The minimum is 10 years, the maximum 25 years.
After credit for time already spent in jail, Mou will be eligible for parole in 12 years, 11 months.
In court, Milburn read an apology on behalf of Mou, directed at his wife, her family, their children and his family.
"My client, Mr. Mou, apologizes completely, fully and without reservation for having caused the death of Yating Hu," Milburn said.
After the sentencing Hu's father, Muming, told reporters that he didn't accept or believe Mou's apology. He thought Mou should have been convicted of and sentenced for first-degree murder.
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