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Murder inquiry yields few results

Death of Chinese man leaves family members desperate for answers

By Curtis M. Wong
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
August 6th, 2008 issue

MICHAEL HEITMANN/The Prague Post
Qian Lu, 39, a textile firm employee, was found dead in a parked car June 30. The prime suspect is a man who owed Lu money.
MICHAEL HEITMANN/The Prague Post
Qian Lu's sister Li Lu and mother, Jing Yun Fan, are outraged at the pace of the investigation, and the language barrier poses problems.
Sitting in the snapshot-lined living room of her cramped apartment in Prague 10, Min Lu gets understandably shaken when speaking about the final days of her late brother Qian Lu, 39. In one corner of the room, she has transformed a small shelf into a makeshift shrine, adorned with a large portrait, Buddhist icons, votive candles, pieces of fruit and several unopened packs of Marlboro Lights — presumably one of Qian’s favorite vices.
“I just can’t believe that it’s real,” Min said between hushed sobs. “He was very happy to be here with us in the Czech Republic. He hadn’t been to many places in Prague yet, but when he’d take the bus home from work, he’d talk about how excited he was to explore the city.”
Min says she has been unable to leave her apartment since her brother’s death more than a month ago. And the time since his killing has been made more difficult by the lack of information that’s so far been revealed.
What is known, according to police reports, is that at approximately 6:40 a.m. June 30, a pedestrian discovered Qian’s body in a black BMW 330D on Trunovského street in the Strašnice neighborhood of Prague 10. He had been killed by gunshot. Several area residents told police they had noticed the car the previous night, but assumed the passenger inside was just sleeping.
The prime suspect in the case is Maosen Ren, a Beijing native who had resided in Prague since 2003 and is the registered owner of the abandoned vehicle. Family members say Ren, whose exact occupation is unclear, had been assisting with their textile business, which imports fabrics from China for bed sheets and other household linens.
According to Min, Ren helped manage the company financially, wiring cash that her family had earned in the Czech Republic to China-based factories in anticipation of upcoming shipments. Authorities say Ren was a well-known figure in the close-knit Chinese communities of Central and Eastern Europe, and had assisted with similar businesses in other countries such as Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania.
Officials are still searching for Ren, who has not been seen in Prague since June 29. While Ren claimed to be running an established business in the Czech Republic along with several partners, officials now suspect his so-called enterprise may have been a false front.
“In the past, Ren did business with toys and textiles, but what his business is now, we do not know,” said a Prague 4 official involved in the investigation. “We went to check on one of his firms, but when we went there to inquire, no one knew what we were talking about. There was no company like that there.”
According to Min, family members had most recently entrusted Ren with 30,000 euros in cash, with the expectation that Ren would wire the money to Min’s husband, who currently resides in China. As collateral for the money, Ren gave Min his Chinese passport, which she was expecting to return to him as soon as he completed the transaction.
When she was informed that the money was never received, Min contacted Ren, who told her that he’d spent much of the cash gambling, but would return it to the family in full as soon as possible.
“We didn’t have a close personal relationship with Ren,” Min said. “We knew him because he helped with our business — he acted as a sort of middle man to pay the factories for our company’s goods. When we found out that Ren hadn’t paid the factory, Qian said he’d contact him and then meet with him to negotiate.”
Fatal exchange
Min said Ren suggested Qian meet him in the parking garage of a Tesco supermarket near the Skalka metro stop in Prague 10 on the evening of June 29, where they would exchange the money. Family members were concerned for Qian’s safety during the meeting, scheduled for approximately 10 p.m., but said they communicated with him via mobile phone at several points throughout the evening. Police say circumstances surrounding his final moments are extremely vague.
“The fact is that Ren owed money to the Lu family,” the police official said. “The two men met up because of this exchange, and then something occurred that is still not entirely clear.”  
A resident of the Czech Republic since 1994, Min said she can’t help but feel partly responsible for Qian’s death, having convinced him to move from their native Xian Yang in China’s Shaanxi province to Prague in February to assist with the family’s business. She fears Ren may have fled to a neighboring country or even as far as his native China, perhaps using a fake passport and identification.
Dealing with local authorities, she says, has been frustrating because of the language barrier, and she’s concerned that the investigation’s length might delay further legal action from being taken, especially in China.
“The reaction has been very slow,” she said. “Right now, we don’t know how far the police have investigated. It’s already been four weeks and we still don’t know if any Chinese authorities have been contacted,” she said.
Adding to the family’s frustrations is the fact that police still have not received the autopsy report (officials say it could take a full three months to be provided). The family’s appeals to the Chinese Embassy in Prague have failed to speed up the process.
“We are deeply interested in this case,” Chinese Embassy officials said in a statement. “We believe that Czech police will investigate the case in agreement with the law and the offender will be arrested soon.”
Min continues to wish for the best. “We just hope that the police can find the culprit as soon as possible,” she said. “If the police can’t find him, we’ll be living in constant fear for our own safety. ... He could be dangerous.”
— Nina Hoťková contributed to this report.

Curtis M. Wong can be reached at cwong@praguepost.com


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