'Betting scam' link to killings

10:43pm Thursday 14th August 2008

Police are investigating reports one of the victims of a brutal double killing may have been involved in an international internet betting scam.

Zhen Xing Yang and his girlfriend Xi Zhou, both 25, were found dead with horrific head injuries in their flat in Newcastle's West End on Saturday.

There is evidence Mr Yang, known as Kevin, was tortured for up to an hour before he died from a combination of wounds. The couple's cat is also thought to have been drowned by their killers.

It can be revealed that Mr Yang placed adverts on UK-based Mandarin-language websites, recruiting people to watch football matches around the world.

After the murders, internet posters made a series of allegations about the couple. One theory they discussed on-line was that football matches shown on TV in China were a minute behind the live action in the stadium, so gambling syndicates would place employees at games to gain an advantage.

So many people were recruited to watch live games that the gambling bosses needed agents to manage them.

Rumour on the internet - passed on to detectives by the Press Association - suggested Mr Yang was an agent, and that some of the employees were in dispute about missing payments.

A mandarin-speaker said: "Things did not go smoothly, according to the forum, and people were not paid on time. Complaints were raised and some people felt they were cheated."

Other allegations about the couple's background on the net included posts saying they sold fake university degrees and international driving licences.

Det Supt Steve Wade, who is leading the Northumbria Police investigation, said: "Community intelligence supported by the examination of computer equipment and mobile call data has shown that both of the victims have been involved in fraudulent activity which has angered and upset a number of people. We are currently investigating this as a possible motive for the killings.".

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