Chinatown hunt for quadruple killer

Anxiang Du is suspected of murdering a family of four from Northampton three months ago over a business deal gone wrong.

Detectives believe he may have fled to London – and that he may be seeking a new identity in Chinatown. But police must break down barriers and persuade the community to come forward.

There has been no news for months now. He has vanished into the shadows. A seemingly ordinary, middle-aged man who is now one of Britain’s most wanted. One theory, that the clue to his disappearnace may lie in the hustle and bustle of London’s Chinatown.

The area attracts thousands of visitors every year, and is full of lively restuarants, stalls and supermarkets. And yet, unusually for an investigation of this scale, there hasn’t been a single confirmed sighting of Anxiang Du. The police have appealed to the community here for help. But it’s a community that traditionally has been reluctant to come forward.

“The Chinese community in many ways is a hidden community.” Bobby Chan

“The Chinese community in many ways is a hidden community.” Bobby Chan has worked in the area for more than 40 years and is Chair of a Chinese advice centre called Min Quan.

He says many Chinese have an uneasy relationship with the authorities.

“Firstly, they come from China, so their experience of the police will be very different to people’s experiences in this country. And secondly, even in this country, they haven’t always been treated well. For example, if they report a crime, the first thing some police forces have done is to check their immigration status, instead of dealing with the crime.

So, not surprisingly, some are reluctant to report anything.”

Chinese community mistrust

Sensitive to this mistrust, of cultural differences and language barriers, Northamptonshire Police must conduct their search. We were given access to the police operation, as they visited addresses in the local area. Detectives were looking for a possible associate, whose name was found scrawled on a piece of paper that Du left behind.

As they knocked on the door, somebody poked their head of an upstairs window. The police explained who they were.

“Can we come in?” The intial answer was “No.” Eventually, the officers gained entry. It took a while for them to explain why they had knocked at that particular address.

The resident explained their initial reluctance to let them in. “It can be very frightening seeing two policemen at the door.”

It turned out that they had never heard of the suspect and so the police moved on.

The next call was at a shop selling traditional Chinese medicines. Anxiang Du ran a herbal remedy shop in Birmingham and detectives are keen to speak to anyone who may have had links with him. The shopowner was able to tell them where Du had used to work. She also told them that it was rumoured within the Chinese community that he may have fled to China – a theory we heard often.

Business deal row

Du had had a bitter fall out over the profits of his shop, with his ex-business partner, Helen Chu. The day before the murders, Du lost a civil court case against her for thousands of pounds – it’s thought he was seething with resentment.

Du boarded a train to Helen Chu’s home. It’s believed he stabbed her and her husband Geoff – and when he realised their two young daughters were upstairs – he killed them as well. All four members of the same family – described by those who knew them as talented, yet humble, friendly and kind.

On the way to Northampton, Du was captured on dozens of cameras – and yet after the murders – not a single sighting. One officer told me it was as if he’d taunted them on the way to Northampton – and then somehow become invisible.

Could he have looked for a new identity in Chinatown? Du’s getaway car was abandoned nearby – his mobile phone, credit cards and bank account haven’t been touched since.

The community has often been described as hard to reach and isolate. But is this just a stereotype? There are some here who reject any suggestion that he may be being harboured by the community.

Could he have looked for a new identity in Chinatown?

“I do not subscribe to that theory,” says Edmund Yeo. He is chair of the Chinese Information and Advice Centre. “This wasn’t a Chinese murder, it was a murder. We shouldn’t treat it any other way.”

Breaking down barriers in the Chinese community can be difficult for detectives, who know Du did go to London straight after the murders. But with no known contacts with any criminal gangs, how has he been able to disappear?

Businesses have been asked to display wanted posters appealing for information on Du’s whereabouts – but if you walk through Chinatown, you will have to look hard to find any.

A shopowner told us it’s considered bad luck and we only found two shops that had done so. Some told us they don’t want to be seen as co-operating with the police. Even as we filmed our report, one community leader told us that the police can’t even hand out leflets in the area without the community’s permission.

I put this to the man leading the investigation, Detective Superintendent Glyn Timmins. “Do you need the community’s permission?”

“We wouldn’t seek their permission, but we would seek their consent,” he answered. He said that although the police have a job to do, they must also be sensitive to cultural differences.

“It’s fair to say the Chinese community is a very closed community, they keep themselves to themselves. I can respect that. But at the same time, we are investigating four horrific murders. It’s up to me and my team to gain the community’s confidence.”

And gaining their confidence may be the key to solving this case and finally apprehending Xiang Du.