Wei Hong GUO
Wei Hong GUO
Wei Hong Guo was 32 years of age at the time of her disappearance. She had arrived in Australia in February 2000 as a student. Her brother (in China) last spoke to Wei Hong by phone in April 2001. The current whereabouts of Wei Hong are not known. She was last seen Thursday 5th April 2001 in Carlingford, Sydney, NSW.
If you have information that may assist police to locate Wei Hong please contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or via Crimestoppers.com.au.
IT WAS, in the words of the State Coroner of NSW, Mary Jerram, ''a strange story''.
Wei Hong Guo, a well-educated 32-year-old, left her young daughter in China's Sichuan province in 2000 and came to Australia with $1.1 million from a divorce settlement.
Within months, she was married to another man, Yong Wei Gao, and was living in a house in Mount Druitt with Mr Gao and his university friend. Less than 18 months later, Ms Guo disappeared and was never seen again.
After a one-day inquest into Ms Guo's case, Ms Jerram made an open finding yesterday, declaring that there was insufficient evidence to say confidently that Ms Guo was even dead, let alone how it may have happened.
''I'm sorry but I just haven't got the evidence to put your mind at rest,'' Ms Jerram told Ms Guo's family at Glebe Coroner's Court.
The open finding will do little to halt suggestions of foul play that have swirled around Ms Guo's disappearance in April 2001.
Her brother, Jiang Guo, remains convinced that Mr Gao was having a homosexual relationship with his university friend, He Huang, and that the two of them murdered Ms Guo for her money.
As evidence for this, he pointed to the fact that Mr Gao did not report his wife missing for eight months and that he was unable to answer basic questions about their finances.
But Ms Jerram said there was ''absolutely no evidence of any foul play [involving] Mr Gao'', no matter how much Ms Guo's brother ''might truly believe it''.
The shadow of Ms Guo's ex-husband, Jin Hua Guo, also continues to hang over the case.
The inquest heard that shortly before Ms Guo left China for Australia, her ex-husband was jailed on fraud charges.
But after arriving in Sydney, she lent him $400,000, which was never returned.
Counsel assisting the coroner, Sergeant Deb Williamson, told the hearing that it was possible Ms Guo ''may have been detained by the Chinese government for having dealings with her ex-husband'' after becoming involved in transactions ''that may or may not have been legal''.
Ultimately this explanation too was rejected by the coroner.
The officer in charge of the investigation, Detective Inspector Darren Newman, said: "I believe that there's someone out there who has information in relation to this case.
"I would ask anyone who has information about the disappearance of Wei Hong Guo to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000, so her relatives can know the truth."
A HUSBAND and his gay lover may have been involved in the suspected death of his wife more than 10 years ago, an inquest has been told.
A HUSBAND and his gay lover may have been involved in the suspected death of his wife more than 10 years ago, an inquest has been told.
Wei Hong Guo, 32, disappeared around April 2001 and hasn't been seen or heard from since.
A coronial inquest into her disappearance and suspected death began in Sydney today.
The Chinese national married her husband, Yong Wei Gao, in 2000 in Sydney after meeting him only once.
Mr Gao had already established residency in Australia and Ms Guo had travelled from China after receiving $1.1 million in her divorce settlement from her former husband.
It is alleged that, before he married Ms Guo, Mr Gao had an intimate relationship with He Huang that may have continued after the marriage.
Counsel assisting, Sergeant Deb Williamson, said Ms Guo's brother had his suspicions.
"It is the belief of the brother of the missing person, Xian Guo, that both Gao and Huang had something to do with the disappearance of Guo in order to get her money," Sgt Williamson said in her opening statement today.
Ms Guo and Mr Gao had invested her money in a number of stock and real estate purchases and eventually bought a home together in Carlingford in late 2000.
In April 2001, Mr Gao told a neighbour and a member of the local Uniting Church that his wife had returned to China.
There was no record of her arriving in her home country.
Before Ms Guo's disappearance, Mr Huang made a report to police that she had attacked him with a hammer.
"He's asserted he and Mr Gao were in an intimate relationship," Sgt Williamson told the inquest.
Mr Huang had gained asylum in Australia, citing persecution in China for his sexual orientation.
A Chinese woman living in Sydney, who disappeared 11 years ago, may have been killed by her husband in a bid to get her money, the Coroner's Court has heard.
But the inquest into Wei Hong Gou's disappearance has also heard that her former husband in China may have been involved.
The coronial inquest into the disappearance of Ms Guo, 32, at the Coroner's Court in Glebe, heard that she enrolled in a community college language course at Macquarie University in 2001, but failed to show up to any classes.
Ms Guo was never seen or heard from again.
The inquiry heard that she came to Australia in 2000 with more than $1.1 million from a divorce settlement with her first husband, Jin Hua Guo.
Soon after arriving, she married another man, Yong Wei Gao, and moved into the home he shared with his parents and another man, He Huang, in Mount Druitt.
From early on in the marriage, there were a series of large financial transactions between Ms Guo, Mr Gao and Mr Huang.
These included a $300,000 joint investment between Ms Guo and Mr Huang, which resulted in substantial losses for both.
Ms Guo and Mr Huang allegedly had a falling out over the failed venture, and some weeks later, Mr Huang told police she had assaulted him with a hammer.
In a letter to police, Mr Huang said that he was involved in an "intimate relationship" with Mr Gao.
About the same time, Ms Guo's ex-husband was jailed in China for a series of corruption and fraud offences.
"He was in the process of applying for a visa with Canadian immigration but was unable to keep the appointment due to his incarceration," counsel assisting the inquiry, Sergeant Deb Williamson said.
"Of interest is the fact that Ms Guo had opened a bank account with a bank in Canada."
On April 11, 2001, Ms Guo withdrew $1000 from the St Geroge Bank at Parramatta and was dropped off at a bus stop in Carlingford by her husband, carrying two suitcases.
"Mr Gao stated to police that the missing person was in possession of a number of suitcases and was planning to travel to China.
"On the same day, Ms Guo's brother, Xian Guo, received an email indicating that she would be travelling to Hong Kong on a false passport."
Ms Guo was never seen or heard from again. No one under the name Wei Hong Gou was recorded traveling to China from Australia.
Sergeant Williamson said one of the assertions that could be made about Ms Guo's disappearance was that Mr Gao knew more than he told police and that "he and He Huang have been involved in the disappearance".
The investigation had been inhibited by the failure of Mr Gao to report his wife missing until 2002, a year after her disappearance.
Ms Guo's brother, Jiang Guo, told the inquest he believed Mr Gao had murdered his sister to get her money.
"I always suspected that Gao was responsible," Mr Guo said.
"I firmly believe this even though I don't have much evidence."
But Sergeant Williamson also said that Ms Guo may have met up with her ex-husband and been involved in financial transactions that may or "may not have been legal".
"Guo may have been detained by the Chinese government for having dealings with her ex-husband."
The hearing, before NSW Coroner Mary Jerram, continues.