Chinese businessman murdered after ransom demand

Cambodian police are investigating the kidnapping and murder of Chinese real estate developer Yang Weixin, whose body was found in a car at a landfill in Phnom Penh on 30 May.

Yang, 53, had lived in the capital for years. CCTV footage shows three men forcing him into a vehicle outside his home on the evening of 29 May. Hours later, his wife began receiving ransom demands totalling US$2 million, allegedly to be paid in cryptocurrency.

The messages, sent from Yang’s phone, pressured her through the night before ending with the chilling line: “It has come to an end.” By late morning, police informed her that her husband had been found dead.

Investigators say Yang was tortured before being killed. Forensic reports detail severe head injuries, bruising across his body, and marks consistent with being tied up. Authorities believe he was ultimately suffocated. Bloodstained knives, tissues and cable ties were recovered from the car.

Police are probing whether the crime is linked to a long-running debt dispute with another Chinese national dating back to 2014. Yang’s wife told officers the man had repeatedly demanded repayment, most recently in 2025.

The case has been classified as premeditated murder. Cambodian media note rising concern over violent crime involving foreign nationals, often tied to business disputes and financial pressures.

For Yang’s family, the killing brings a tragic end to a feud that spanned more than a decade, while for Phnom Penh authorities it marks one of the most high-profile ransom kidnappings in recent years.

-2026-06-03