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The Horrifying True Story of the Hello Kitty Murder

In May of 1999, a fourteen-year-old girl, Ling Choi San (named changed) walked into a police station in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong to file a very strange report. She reported to the police that she was being haunted by a young woman’s ghost. Although her complaint would have been dismissed as ludicrous, it is what she then said that required further investigation. The young girl went on to explain that she believed the ghost was that of a young woman she had helped torture and kill.

Twenty-three-year-old Fan Man-yee was a night club hostess with a troubled past. Raised in a girls’ home after being abandoned by her family, Fan turned to drugs and prostitution by the time she was a teenager. Her tragic life made it inevitable that she would cross paths with Chan Man-lok, a 34-year-old pimp and drug dealer who lived in a five-bedroom apartment above the city’s famous shopping district. His apartment was a teenager’s dream decorated in a wide assortment of Hello Kitty paraphernalia including sheets, curtains and a large collection of stuffed dolls. He also kept a steady supply of video games, pornography, and drugs.

Fan’s first encounter with Chan came in 1997 when Fan stole his wallet containing $4,000. Realizing she made a mistake, Fan returned the wallet with and addition $10K as an apology. Chan was unsatisfied with her apology and demanded another $16K. On March 17, 1999, Chan sent his henchmen to kidnap Fan for not paying what she “owed”. Chan’s original intention was to have Fan work off her debt as a prostitute. However, as he and his henchmen were high on “ice”, they began taking turns beating her. That’s when 14-year-old Ling, who had been living with Chan and thoroughly enjoying the gangster lifestyle, said she too joined in on the torture.

Fan’s torturers spent nearly a month alternating between video games and beating their captive, all while under the influence of crystal meth. After a month of enduring depraved abuse, Fan passed away. Chan ordered his men to take her body to the bathroom where it was dismembered. Her body parts were then boiled in an attempt to conceal the smell of decomposition. The boiling took days and was done in the same kitchen that the gang ate in, sometimes utilizing the same tools for both. Although most of the body was eventually disposed of, for some unexplained reason they decided to place Fan’s skull into a large Hello Kitty mermaid doll.

That’s when, according to Ling, the haunting began. Whether it was guilt or drugs, Ling was convinced that Fan was seeking revenge from beyond the grave. Chan and his gang were eventually arrested and given life sentences. Lin, for her testimony, was given immunity. The case was covered extensively in the Hong Kong press and became the subject of two feature films. For several years after the case, paranormal investigators visited the building where Fan was killed attempting to communicate with her until the building was eventually demolished in 2012.