BC Killer Gets New Parole Rules After Precursor Chemical Seizure

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A British Columbia man convicted in 2017 of manslaughter after a botched kidnapping must now live in a halfway house after Richmond RCMP seized precursor chemicals from his luxury riverfront condo.

Tian Yi (Eddie) Zhang, 31, was released on full parole on Nov. 1, 2023, after a successful period of day parole, according to a Parole Board of Canada decision communicated to Postmedia on Friday .

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But Zhang’s probation was suspended after Richmond RCMP searched his $3.2 million condo on Dec. 20, 2023, and found tens of thousands of dollars and boxes full of chemicals used to make fentanyl and methamphetamine. .

Zhang, his wife Ya Ran Li, who owns the condo, and an associate were briefly arrested and released. The British Columbia government has since filed a lawsuit saying the fifth-floor unit at 5131 Brighouse Way should be seized.

The statement of claim filed by the director of civil forfeiture last month said Zhang and his associate “picked up two boxes from the concierge desk of the property strata building” and took them to the fifth floor where they were arrested.

“The first box contained five heat-sealed aluminum bags, each weighing approximately five kilograms: one bag of iodine and four bags of sodium hydroxide,” the document alleges. “The second box also contained five heat-sealed bags, weighing approximately five kilograms: three bags of iodine and two bags of benzomethyl ketone.”

All three chemicals are used to produce methamphetamine.

Inside Zhang and Li’s suite, police confiscated the cash: C$53,650, “clustered or packaged in a manner inconsistent with standard banking practices,” as well as a cash counting machine, the lawsuit alleges.

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There were also two more “cardboard boxes, each weighing approximately 25 kilograms and containing a white powder” located under the stairs, near most of the cash. Inside was a chemical used to make fentanyl.

Neither Zhang nor Li have filed a defense brief. But probation documents quote Zhang as claiming that the boxes belonged to his neighbor and that he was simply dropping them off. And he said he was “shocked” to learn of the cash and other items found in the condo.

Parole board member Patrick Storey said in the latest decision that since no new charges have been filed, Zhang should be released back on parole, but with additional conditions.

“While the board is very concerned about the circumstances of his suspension and the fact that a police investigation is underway, Crown counsel has not approved any charges at this time,” Storey said.

Storey said Zhang’s “risk of reoffending can be managed by imposing a residency condition and curfew.”

But he delayed Zhang’s release for 30 days “to allow a release plan to be developed.”

In February 2017, Zhang received a net sentence of 11 years, 10 months after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter, unlawful confinement and extortion in connection with the kidnapping of Peng Sun in September 2015. Sun, 22, ended up accidentally strangling himself with a zap. strap around his neck while he was being held for ransom in a North Vancouver basement.

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At the time, Zhang claimed to have a gambling debt and “agreed to participate in a crime to pay off this debt.”

Storey also said in the parole decision, dated March 20, that Correctional Service of Canada staff had recommended revocation of Zhang’s parole due to “the large quantity of precursor chemicals found in his possession and equipment.” laboratory, the large amount of cash and the number of cell phones located at his residence.”

And he noted that Zhang has a deportation order against him and, therefore, cannot work in Canada and receives financial support from his relatives.

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