Killer son 'innocent' says father

Wong Chung Chuen had no idea his son was in prison for 18 years

The father of a Chinese contract killer convicted for murder has told BBC Spotlight that he did not know his son was serving an 18 year sentence.

Wong Chung Chuen, who lives in Hong Kong, said he was unaware that his son Wong Siu Ching had been sentenced to 18 years in jail for murdering a waitress.

Mi Yi Ho, 29, also called Candy, was strangled at her Isoline Street home in east Belfast almost 10 years ago.

Ching was sentenced to 18 years in prison after a 10-year international police investigation that involved detectives from Hong Kong and Belfast.

Ms Ho was 18 weeks pregnant when she was found strangled in her Isoline Street home in June 1998.

The murder was described in court as a contract killing.

Ms Ho, was having an affair with Jimmy Yeun, a Belfast restaurateur, who was a friend of Ching.

It was alleged in court that Yeun had asked Ching to travel to Belfast from Hong Kong to kill Ms Ho.

She was killed on her 29th birthday.

Jimmy Yeun, who ran a takeaway in Dundonald, was acquitted of procuring Ms Ho's murder in 2001.

Wong Chung Chuen has never spoken publicly about his son's involvement the case.

Ms Ho was 18 weeks pregnant when was found dead in her Isoline Street home

He was tracked down by BBC Spotlight reporter Stephen Walker to a flat in Hong Kong.

Mr Cheun said he believed his son was innocent adding that he found it difficult to understand why his son would get involved in anything like this.

"He is not a bad person," he said.

"I cannot understand why he was involved in such a criminal case. He does not tell me everything about himself."

Ching, who was extradited to Belfast from Hong Kong to face trial, has always denied murdering Ms Ho and claimed he came to Belfast simply to get work.

He is serving his sentence at Maghaberry prison in County Antrim and is appealing his conviction.

Ms Ho first arrived in Northern Ireland from Hong Kong in 1989 and stayed with her Belfast born cousin Ken Tsang.

Mr Tsang has told the Spotlight programme how he had to identify her body after the killing:

"You could see a big strangle mark from the neck upwards, it was all purple," he said.

"So that even before the detective told me I knew she was strangled."

Ching's conviction marked the end of a 10 year investigation conducted originally by the RUC and then the PSNI.

Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde said the case show the PSNI's determination to find Ms Ho's killer

"I think what was really important here was it showed our determination to deal with this case and follow it to the ends of the earth," he said.

Spotlight: On The Trail Of A Hitman is on Tuesday, 28 October on BBC One Northern Ireland at 2235 GMT.