SubscribeLog in
Connect with us

China Local News

25-Year-Old Woman from Chengdu Murdered in Australia [Updated]

The recent mysterious murder of the 25-year-old Chinese Michelle Leng, who studied in Sydney, has become a much-talked about case on social media, both in China and in Australia.

Manya Koetse

Published

on

The recent mysterious murder of the 25-year-old Chinese Michelle Leng, who studied in Sydney, has become a much-talked about case on social media, both in China and in Australia. Local police are still puzzled about what happened to her. [Updated: according to Sydney Morning Herald, a man who is believed to be Leng’s uncle was charged with her murder on Friday, April 29].

The 25-year-old international student Michelle Leng (Mengmei Leng, 冷梦梅) from Chengdu was reported missing by a Weibo user on Tuesday, April 26. According to the Weibo message, the woman was last seen by her friends on Thursday, April 21st around 3.00 pm in central Syndey, where she said goodbye to them at a bus stop.

Disappearance of Michelle Leng

Leng had been living in Australia as an international student for five years. Although her sudden disappearance was deemed “very unusual” by her friends and family, they did not formally report her missing until Monday, four days since she was last seen.

According to China’s WMG News, the message that Leng was missing attracted much attention from netizens who helped spread the news of Leng’s disappearance on Chinese social media.

At the same time, a New South Wales police station issued a public notice on Wednesday, April 27, that they were looking for people to help confirm the identity of a deceased woman whose naked body was found on Sunday near a tourist area on the New South Wales Central Coast near Snapper Point. On Friday, April 29, the body was confirmed to be that of Leng.

ABC News reports that Leng was found floating face-down in the water at a blowhole with several stab wounds in the neck, indicating a violent attack.

593793e5gw1f3dja355mij20hm0d8acgThe location where Leng’s body was found (Daily Mail).

Leng lived with her aunt, uncle, and cousins in Campsie, a suburb in southwestern Sydney. Her mother and brother are living in China. According to VOIS magazine, Michelle Leng studied at the University of Technology in Sydney.

vois

As police is still investigating what happened to Leng, they released CCTV footage of her shopping in central Sydney’s Pitt Street on April 21st. Australian police asked people who have any information about Leng’s whereabouts between April 21st and April 24th to come forward.

cctv

The place where Leng was found on Sunday is some 277 kilometers (172 miles) away from the central part of Sydney where she was last captured on CCTV camera.

Timeline of Michelle Leng Case [updated]

• Thursday, April 21 – Michelle Leng says goodbye to her friends at a bus stop in central Sydney and goes shopping at Pitt Street Mall, takes train ride home to Campsie.
• Sunday, April 24 – Woman’s naked body found at Snapper Point on the Central Coast, some 277 km from central Sydney.
• Monday, April 25 – Michelle Leng is reported missing by her relatives.
• Tuesday, April 26 – News of the disappearance of Michelle Leng gets attention on Chinese social media, as an acquaintance of the family posts about it.
• Wednesday, April 27 – Australian police issues public notice about the body found at the coast.
• Friday, April 29 – The body of the woman found at Snapper Point is confirmed to be that of Michelle Leng.
• Friday, April 29 – Police arrest the 27-year-old uncle of Leng and charge him with her murder.
• Saturday, April 30 – The suspect is scheduled to appear at Parramatta Bail Court.

 

Discussions on Facebook and Weibo

On Facebook, Michelle Leng became the focus of speculation on Friday, with some media saying she had arrangements to meet someone she knew from social media on Thursday night – although this has not been confirmed. Other Facebookers take Leng’s case as a warning for all international students to look out for each other and call the police when they think they are being followed.

 

commentfb

 

Many Weibo netizens are currently also discussing Leng’s case under the hashtag ’25-year-old Chengdu Woman Murdered in Syndey’ (#成都女孩悉尼遇害#). While most sympathize with Leng and her family, there are also those who say the girl only went to study abroad to get a “fake diploma”. One netizen comments: “What scares me more than this murder is how people comment on it. A Chinese girl has met great misfortune while studying abroad. And suddenly ignorant masses are compelled to say she was ‘buying fake credentials’ and other things that have nothing to do with it.”

Screen Shot 2016-04-29 at 17.41.18

“This is so tragic, I hope they solve the case soon,” another netizen said.

Although Australian SBS news initially reported that Michelle Leng’s killing was still a ‘puzzle’ to local police, the Sydney Morning Herald later reported that a man who is believed to be Leng’s uncle was arrested for her murder on Friday.

– By Manya Koetse

©2016 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.

Manya is the founder and editor-in-chief of What's on Weibo, offering independent analysis of social trends, online media, and digital culture in China for over a decade. Subscribe to gain access to content, including the Weibo Watch newsletter, which provides deeper insights into the China trends that matter. More about Manya at manyakoetse.com or follow on X.

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

China Local News

The Liaoyang Restaurant Fire That Killed 22 People

Manya Koetse

Published

on

🔥 Quick Take: Trending in China – Week 18
This is a brief update from our curated roundup of what’s trending in China this week. A version of this story also appears in the Weibo Watch newsletter. Subscribe to stay in the loop.


An enormous fire that happened at a restaurant in Liaoning’s Liaoyang on the afternoon of April 29 (see video) has gone top trending on Chinese social media, mainly due to the fact that it caused so many fatalities.

By 7pm, Chinese official media reported that the fire, which happened at 12:25 in the city’s Baita district, had killed 22 people. Three people were injured.

The fire started on the second floor of the restaurant Sanli Chuniang (三里厨娘/Sanli Chef’s Daughter) on Minzhu Road (民主路) and quickly spread throughout the entire two-story brick-concrete structure, which covers an area of about 260 square meters. The windy weather also played a part in how quickly the fire spread. The fire broke out around lunchtime, when there were many customers.

The restaurant before and after the fire.

Some sources on Xiaohongshu report that, according to witnesses, toxic smoke filled the entire building in less than five minutes. The thick smoke, small spaces inside the two-story building, and limited escape routes — some of which were allegedly blocked — all contributed to the high number of fatalities. Some victims were reportedly just ten meters away from the exit, yet still failed to escape.

According to Caixin, the restaurant’s second floor had several private rooms without windows.

To make matters worse, some nearby vehicles were not moved in time, hindering the rescue operations.

Sanli Chuniang was a locally popular restaurant serving various Chinese dishes, snacks, and dumplings. It was in business since 2016.

On social media, many commenters are expressing shock and sadness over the deadly fire. They also want answers into why there seemed to have been little to no fire safety precautions at the establishment.

The last time a restaurant fire with many fatalities made major headlines in China was in 2023, when a gas explosion inside a BBQ restaurant in Yinchuan resulted in 31 deaths. Nine people, including the restaurant owner, were later arrested in connection with the fire and the lack of safety precautions.

Some reports on the Liaoyang restaurant fire have now been removed, but it appears that the restaurant had been operating illegally since 2023 and that its fire safety inspections were not up to date.

Guancha reported that while the cause of the fire is still under investigation, the restaurant owner has been taken into custody.

🔄 Update 1: Chinese leader Xi Jinping issued a statement regarding the devastating fire, calling on local authorities to hold those responsible accountable and to properly handle matters related to the victims and console their families.

Premier Li Qiang also emphasized that local authorities across China should screen for fire hazards and strengthen safety measures to prevent such major accidents from occurring.

🔄 Update 2: Preliminary investigations have ruled out arson or gas leakage as the cause of the fire. The specific cause of the incident is still under investigation, focusing on leftover cigarette butts that might have started the fire or possible electrical faults. The restaurant’s furniture and interior materials were highly flammable, and strong winds outside caused the fire to spread quickly and block the exits. This made it difficult for those trapped inside to escape. Most victims died from asphyxiation after inhaling large amounts of toxic smoke in a short time.

As definite results have not yet been issued at the time of writing (May 6), some netizens are wondering: “When can we expect to hear more?”

 
By Manya Koetse

(follow on X, LinkedIn, or Instagram)

Spotted a mistake or want to add something? Please let us know in comments below or email us. First-time commenters, please be patient – we will have to manually approve your comment before it appears.

©2025 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.

Follow What’s on Weibo on

Continue Reading

China Local News

Aftermath of Suzhou Marathon’s “Pissing Gate”

Manya Koetse

Published

on

🔥 Quick Take: Trending in China – Week 17
This is a brief update from our curated roundup of what’s trending in China this week. A version of this story also appears in the Weibo Watch newsletter. Subscribe to stay in the loop.


It has already been over seven weeks since the Suzhou Marathon took place, but it was trending again today in light of a statement that has come out regarding a particular situation.

During the March 2nd Suzhou Marathon, which had over 25,000 participants, images and videos went viral showing how some runners stopped to take a toilet break and urinated against the main sign of the Jiangsu Suzhou Experimental Middle School (江苏省苏州实验中学).


At the time, the Suzhou Marathon soon released an official statement denouncing the “uncivilized” behavior of the runners.

Other images showed that there were portable toilets set up along the route, but even there, there were runners urinating in public.

Portable toilets along the route.

Runner urinating behind the portable toilets.

On April 24, the Chinese Athletics Association (中国田径协会, CAA), the national governing body for athletics in China, issued a statement saying that, according to the association’s disciplinary regulations, ten participants who urinated against the school sign have been banned from participating in any marathon affiliated with the CAA for the next three years, until March 1, 2028.

The Chinese Athletics Association further stated that they have decided to revoke Suzhou Marathon’s eligibility to apply for event certification in 2026.

Although most online commenters agree that the runners should be punished for their behavior, some also note that it seems “unfair” that Suzhou Marathon also cannot apply for organizing its 2026 marathon:

💬 “(..) because of the uncivilized behavior of just 10 people, Suzhou Marathon’s eligibility to apply for certification from the Chinese Athletics Association in 2026 was directly cancelled. Isn’t this kind of penalty a bit unfair to Suzhou? After all, just 20 meters away from where those people were peeing, there were many portable toilets set up.”

Just around the corner from where the runners urinated in public, there were plenty of portable toilets set up.

Where they peed against the wall, and the toilets nearby.

The punishment for the Suzhou Marathon seems to be a classic case of “killing the chicken to scare the monkey” (杀鸡儆猴): a drastic measure that sends a clear message to other marathons. Not only should they provide plenty of portable toilets, but they must also enforce measures or assign staff to ensure that another “pissing gate” doesn’t happen in the future.

 
By Manya Koetse with contributions by Miranda Barnes

(follow on X, LinkedIn, or Instagram)

Spotted a mistake or want to add something? Please let us know in comments below or email us. First-time commenters, please be patient – we will have to manually approve your comment before it appears.

©2025 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.

Follow What’s on Weibo on

Continue Reading

Subscribe

What’s on Weibo is run by Manya Koetse (@manyapan), offering independent analysis of social trends in China for over a decade. Subscribe to gain access to all content and get the Weibo Watch newsletter.

Manya Koetse's Profile Picture

Get in touch

Would you like to become a contributor, or do you have any tips or suggestions? Get in touch here!

Popular Reads