Hong Kong's Dark Secret: The Terrifying Braemar Hill Murders
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In 1980, Hong Kong entered the year of the monkey. Newborns were swathed in predetermined destinies that foretold intelligence, resourcefulness, and innovation.

This proved to be a particularly symbolic prophecy for the city itself. It entered its golden age that year, bringing about the birth of the Hong Kong we know today. Its 5 million inhabitants were, for the first time, faced with abundance, not only in wealth but in opportunity. Hong Kong became an international player in industries previously reserved for the world's superpowers, and a construction boom saw the region come alive.

The streets were soon lined with storefronts, advertisements began promising infinite possibilities, neon signs illuminated the night skies, and the Hong Kong dream was born. The vertical city was peppered with skyscrapers, discolored by sun and rain, which were eventually joined by the shiny new steel and glass monoliths found in the West. Over time, Hong Kong would become a city of skyscrapers,

a concrete jungle in the most literal sense of the term. Those who hadn't yet lost themselves in the throbbing city would be forgiven for assuming it was devoid of natural beauty. If you looked past its concrete skylines, you would find the dense greenery of Hong Kong's forested countryside and national parks. Vast hills thick with foliage hugged the city's outskirts and rose from the shadows cast by its superstructures.

Beyond those slopes lay cascading mountains and lush valleys of green, in which the only break was the blue of snaking streams and sprawling lakes. I must warn you though, like most virtually untouched wilderness, the hills of Hong Kong have a history littered with bodies. Over the years, its misty inclines and ancient trees have borne witness to unspeakable acts of human cruelty.

Hong Kong has mostly recovered from the massacres of past wars. However, One Hill, in particular, has since become the site of a tragedy far smaller in scale, but just as cruel. While its body count pales in comparison, its story is so senselessly violent that, 38 years later, many still shudder at the mention of its name, Braemer Hill.

Rising 660 feet above Hong Kong Island, the hill was once cherished for its breathtaking views. Now, it's remembered not for its beauty, but for one of Hong Kong's most barbaric crimes ever reported. In a city with some of the lowest murder rates in the world,

it served as a harsh awakening. Hong Kongers were forced to come to terms with not only the unbridled savagery that befell two innocent teenagers, but the blatant bias of the colonial police response that followed. This is the story of the Bramer Hill Murders.

Part 1: All Sweetness and Light As with all gruesome acts of violence, the world of true crime tends to fixate on the gory details of the atrocities and the minds and motivations of those who commit them. It all comes down to morbid curiosity, something I personally have no shortage of. That said, there is no darkness without light. Similarly, there is no crime nor criminal without victims.

The latter is the beating heart of each story. Their plights evoke pity, outrage, and the unnerving realization that no one is safe, not even you. Yet, the victims are almost always reduced to a simple Wikipedia summary, too pivotal to the plot to be ignored, but too mundane to deserve commemoration. Not here. In today's story, their names were Kenneth McBride and Nicola Myers.

Their light was needlessly snuffed out by some of the most gleefully sadistic lowlifes I've ever had the displeasure of researching. Merely skimming through what made these young lovers shine so brightly would be akin to smothering their light a second time. As their former teacher, Chris Force, so poignantly wrote: "We should regret their missing years and remember their former glories." Little is known about the lovers' early lives.

Their families grieved outside of the public eye, safeguarding their personal affairs with a quiet dignity few could manage when facing such devastation. Hugh McBride, an engineer, and Maggie McBride, a devout Catholic, left Scotland when Kenneth and his sister Marian were still young. They emigrated to Hong Kong to further Hugh's career, where the family lived as full-time foreigners in a colonial paradise.

The Myers, who were also citizens of the United Kingdom, were particularly protective of their privacy. All we know is that they too emigrated to Hong Kong when Nicola was just a child, settling in the British colony for work reasons. The families fused when their children fell for one another at school, a connection that outlasted the couple's grisly fate.

Kenneth and Nicola were both students at Island School in Hong Kong, a prestigious and expensive international education center. The pair were well-known and well-loved, both as individuals and as their school's golden couple. Almost four decades after their grisly demise, they are still remembered with a vivid, bittersweet fondness. Kenneth McBride, a 17-year-old Scotsman, was a shining star on campus.

He was the president of the Students' Union, captain of the rowing team, and a prominent member of the debate club. David James, the vice principal at the time, has since recalled one particularly profound moment when he regarded the teenager with awe one week before his murder.

Kenneth gave a gripping speech in a school assembly about South Africa's apartheid. The 17-year-old praised Nelson Mandela for his fearless political activism and rallied the school to knit squares for Soweto. Few could ever hope to be remembered with such reverence. Kenneth was, and still remains, a rare beacon of light. That said, he somehow managed to cross paths with another, one who mirrored his benevolence and verve.

Her name was Nicola Myers. The couple was known to write poetry to each other on the school roof and fight for the less fortunate together. Kenneth's sister, Marian, recalls them collecting toys and clothes for a charity in Ethiopia. The donations were so plentiful that the pair couldn't afford the postage.

Undeterred, Kenneth and Nicola baked cake after cake and sold them the following day, securing the funds they needed to ensure their package reached its destination. Nicholas Riley, another former teacher, remembers Nicola as being every bit as popular as her counterpart, although for different reasons.

The 18-year-old was cherished for her warm, bright and sunny nature, with one former classmate saying: "I wanted to grow up and be just like her." Nicola was utterly besotted with the city she now called home. She formed unbreakable bonds with her local friends, which only nurtured her deep love and respect for their culture. Unlike most Western expatriates of the time, whose Cantonese was broken and learned out of necessity,

Nicola was a rare exception who became fluent in both Cantonese and Mandarin. Language was her passion, one she planned to turn into a career after completing her further education. She envisioned a future as an interpreter and translator. I'm sure she dreamt of sharing that future with Kenneth. Of course, neither would get the chance. Part 2. A Sick Twist of Fate

On April 20th, 1985, Nicola left her home in the early hours of the morning and headed to Kenneth's house and Bramer Hill mansions. The private housing estate consisted of a cluster of high-rise apartments nestled at the foot of the now infamous Bramer Hill. Kenneth and Nicola were a studious pair and chose to spend that Saturday preparing for their upcoming A-level exams. At 1:00 p.m., Kenneth and Nicola felt they needed a change of scenery.

They decided to take a stroll through the forests of Bramer Hill to fill their lungs with fresh air and their minds with fresh vigor. The couple had by no means given up on their studies. On the contrary, they planned to find a quiet, secluded spot to pick up where they left off. Kenneth's house was a short walk from the Bramer Hill countryside, a section of the Tai Tam Country Park.

It boasted shaded paths dappled with sunlight, glistening lakes, and a tranquility only disturbed by the warbling birdlife. The park had become their sanctuary, a place to connect in the midst of their final year and study in peace. The couple's usual spot was hidden deep within the thickets of Taiwan acacias and slash pines.

However, Kenneth had recently torn a tricep in an inter-school rowing competition, leaving his arm limp and bound in a sling against his chest. Hoping to avoid unnecessary exertion, the teenagers decided not to venture too far into the forest. They had the ideal spot in mind. It was close to Kenneth's house but, in a sick twist of fate, far enough that no one would hear their screams.

The couple informed the McBrides, Kenneth's parents, of their plans, walked out the front door, and never came back. Hours later, the setting sun had stained the countryside with a golden hue, yet Kenneth and Nicola still hadn't arrived home. The McBrides were understandably concerned. Though cell phones had yet to become a household staple, they still expected to hear from the teenagers before nightfall. That said,

Hong Kong's near non-existent violent crime rates had lulled the McBrides into placidity, and they assumed that the couple had simply gone to Nicholas' house. Once the clock struck seven, however, assumptions did little to comfort the worried parents. Maggie McBride, Kenneth's mother, called the Myers asking after her son, and was instead given a response that made her hair stand on end. The teenagers weren't there either.

The McBride and Meyer parents were suddenly overwhelmed by an unfamiliar sensation: panic. Though their world had come to a screeching halt, the sun continued sinking and eventually disappeared beneath the horizon. The dark of night bled into the sky and Bramer Hill was plunged into shadows.

Unable to idle any longer, Hugh McBride, Kenneth's father, grabbed a torch and ventured into the forest that swallowed his son. He followed winding concrete paths and stumbled through thick brush far from the beaten track, calling out to Kenneth and Nicola as he did. They never called back. He emerged from the forest at 1:00 AM and shared a sleepless night with his family before returning with the rising sun.

The McBride family searched the countryside and, though they didn't find the teenagers, they did find a chilling clue: Kenneth's textbooks. They had been ripped up and dumped on a hillside near their home. Neither Kenneth nor Nicola would ever be so destructive. That was all the proof they needed. Something terrible had befallen the couple, and someone else had caused it. Part 3: Bodies on Bramer Hill

After breaking the distressing news to the Myers, both families had a missing persons report with the authorities. The police never delayed the investigation nor tried to convince the parents that their children had simply run away. While it's refreshing to cover a case with such a diligent police response, one can't ignore that the teenagers were white, wealthy foreigners. As you'll later see, this would shine a telling spotlight on the long-suppressed problems of colonial Hong Kong.

On April 21st, the very morning after Kenneth and Nicola disappeared, the Royal Hong Kong Police sent teams of officers to scour Bramer Hill and the surrounding countryside. Still, they could find no trace of the missing teens, that is, until they received a frantic call from a fellow resident of Bramer Hill Mansions. The man had been on his morning run in the nearby forests when he stumbled upon a nightmarish scene.

After scaling the steep slope of Bramer Hill, he took a moment to catch his breath and noticed two figures splayed out on the grassy hillside. One looked to be a girl. She was scantily clad, leading him to believe that she was tanning. The runner narrowed his eyes. She wasn't moving. He approached the motionless couple with caution, and his knees buckled beneath him, not from exhaustion, but from utter shock.

There, clear as day, lay the battered bodies of two teenagers: Kenneth McBride and Nicola Myers. The Hong Kong police force descended upon the hillside. One of the first to arrive at the crime scene was Detective Trevor Collins. As a veteran in the homicide department, he was no stranger to bloodshed. Yet, even he flinched at the sight of the mutilated corpses. The detective's revulsion was shared by all present.

including a police press officer who fainted at the scene. Kenneth's body was found beaten and riddled with over 100 injuries. His hands and feet were tied up and, oddly, his shoes were missing. Even so, Kenneth was the lucky one, if you could call that luck. The attack on Nicola had been far more vicious and drawn out, bordering on torture.

She was bound and almost completely naked. Her bare skin bruised and lacerated from more than 500 separate wounds. Horrifically, Nicola had been beaten with such force, her left eye had popped out of its socket and was left dangling against her swollen cheek. Detective Collins still grimaces at the memory, saying, "I'd never come across a body with that many injuries."

It was impossible to carry Kenneth and Nicola down Bramer Hill's arboraceous slopes, forcing the police to call in a helicopter to take over the grim task. The teenagers' desecrated bodies were lifted towards the heavens, flown to the British Military Hospital, and, finally, transported to the Victoria Public Mortuary.

The following day, on April 22nd, the autopsies provided investigators with precious, albeit miserable, insights into the attack. Poor Nicola had endured a suffering that few could ever fathom, which was made evident by the expression of pure terror fixed upon her pale face. The coroner confirmed that the 18-year-old had clung to life for hours, during which her jaw was broken and objects were thrust into her vagina.

Perhaps you're thinking it couldn't possibly get any worse. I'm sorry to tell you, but it does. Over and above broken bones, several hundred injuries, and sexual assault. Nicola had also been raped. Traces of semen were found on her body, as well as splatters of blood belonging to neither teenager, leading the coroner to conclude that her attacker was male. Once Kenneth's autopsy had been performed, however, it became clear that the attack was a group effort.

Of the Scottish school boys near countless wounds, almost all were defensive, which told a somber story of his fight for survival. Despite his torn tricep, Kenneth had struggled so fiercely that it would have been impossible for one or even two men to take him down. The coroner confirmed that the 17-year-old was overpowered, restrained, brutally beaten, and eventually strangled with the very sling that once cradled his injured arm.

In a matter of days, a missing persons case turned into one of Hong Kong's most sadistic double homicides. The pressure was on for law enforcement to find their killers. That said, no one expected the case to receive the exorbitant police response that it did. Part 4: No Expense Spared

The Royal Hong Kong Police, which was established and largely run by British Colonials, initiated the most comprehensive and costly investigation the city had ever seen. No expense was spared in its pursuit of the truth. Roughly 400 officers were deployed to comb the Bramerhill countryside for any evidence relating to the murders of the two teenage expats. According to Detective Collins, even with hundreds of boots on the ground, it was an impossible task.

The search area was sloped, pathways were scarce, and any potential exhibits were obscured by dense shrubbery. Worse still, careless park visitors had left the landscape littered with trash, all of which had to be tagged, photographed, and catalogued. In the end, their tremendous efforts would prove to be fruitless, as the evidence collected did little to aid them in uncovering the identities of the killers.

The legion of policemen was eventually joined by troops from the British forces and three entire squadrons of the Blue Beret Police Tactical Unit. Locals were stunned, which is understandable considering the latter were battle-hardened, heavily armed officers usually reserved for large-scale emergencies and cracking down on the triads.

The senseless brutality inflicted upon two innocent teenagers was more than deserving of a serious and thorough police response. That said, it quickly became excessive and unnecessary. The city's resources continued to be drained, and the costs continued to soar. In addition to the already abundant manpower, the authorities enlisted the help of a further 800 police officers.

This was supplemented with several hundred more soldiers from the Royal Hong Kong Regiment. Even a helicopter was thrown into the mix, which searched from above for days on end. I struggled to comprehend the need for a chopper and well over 1,000 policemen, soldiers and blue berets. The bodies were recovered, the autopsies were performed, and the killers were almost definitely long gone.

Perhaps my bewilderment stems from my lack of bias. The same, however, cannot be said for the colonial regime. Back then, Hong Kong was still considered a crown colony under British rule. Senior bureaucratic positions were almost exclusively bestowed upon expats, and the region was embroiled in an us-versus-them divide. The latter was only worsened by the extravagant investigation into Kenneth and Nicholas' murder.

Officials blamed duty but, in truth, the notion that such a violent crime could be committed against their fellow expatriates in their self-anointed paradise is what fueled it. Dave Hodson, the former assistant police commissioner, has since validated the bias. "Two people being killed at the time was unusual, and frankly, for them to be two expats was a whole other matter," Hodson explained. This sentiment was certainly not lost on the locals.

Hong Kong's Chinese residents were outraged by the police's flagrant double standards and culture of discrimination. Had the victims been local, they would never have enjoyed such a prompt, exhaustive and expensive investigation. This was echoed by a local blogger who asked a particularly powerful question: Can you imagine the government going through all this trouble if it had been a couple of Chinese kids from a public housing estate in Kowloon?

Consequently, the Hong Kong press openly condemned the police for what they deemed inexcusable racism. The public outcry only intensified when it was revealed that the initial and colossal search efforts had yielded little to no actionable evidence. Part 5: Into the Fire Undeterred by the scathing publicity that surrounded them,

The Royal Hong Kong Police pressed on, though their procedural decisions were certainly questionable. Their investigation did eventually bear fruit. Three broken and bloodied branches were discovered near the crime scene. Investigators weren't sure if they were the murder weapons, but the branches were certainly used to beat the teenage couple senselessly at the very least, meaning they would be a wealth of valuable forensic evidence.

The ruined textbooks that the McBrides had found, strewn across the hillside, contained a splattering of fingerprints that didn't belong to either Kenneth or Nicola. That said, books were meant to be borrowed, shared, and thumbed through. In other words, the fingerprints could have come from anyone. Any prints found on the branches, however, would hold considerably more weight in court.

The blood-stained wood was processed for evidence and, as expected, at least one unknown fingerprint was found. The print was cross-checked with those stored in the city's criminal database but, frustratingly, investigators didn't get a hit.

At that stage, most of the troops and tactical units had emerged from the hillside empty-handed and returned to their posts. Investigators were stuck with a fingerprint that had no match and blood samples that required today's forensic sciences to test. Desperate for a lead, hot or cold, the police shelved their search for DNA evidence in favor of a search for suspects. However, the latter proved to be just as challenging.

The only thing investigators knew about their perps was that there were at least more than two and at least one male. So, they did what any detective would do when trying to narrow down a search. They investigated every past instance where two or more people were stopped by police on Hong Kong Island. Unsurprisingly, after several weeks of locating and questioning random persons of interest, investigators were left with a mountain of evidence but no leads.

Seemingly absurd theories started to float around the department, one of which posited that the murders were a mugging gone wrong. Of course, the attack was disproportionately violent, and the idea was promptly dismissed. Investigators became overwhelmed by desperation, leading to a rash decision. They expanded their already expansive endeavor to include door-to-door questioning,

All available officers descended upon Bramer Hill mansions and over 18,000 residents were interviewed. Something the police would soon come to regret. While I applaud their dedication, their ever-expanding investigative work saw them leaping from the frying pan and straight into the fire. They simply didn't have the manpower nor the technology to process such a vast collection of information, leaving them swimming in data and sinking fast. Roy Henry, the Commissioner of Police.

eventually had enough, more so, he had an idea. Henry approached Governor Edward Youde and requested funds for the latest data entry system. It would allow his detectives to analyze multiple exhibits from multiple crime scenes, just as the British police had done when investigating the Yorkshire Ripper. The governor presented Henry with a blank cheque, which not only allowed him to procure the machine, but fly Detective Collins to London to learn how to use it.

Disappointingly, like most of the police's costly exploits, it offered no smoking gun. While it certainly helped to process the torrent of information flooding their desks, it didn't bring them any closer to solving the case. It wasn't a completely wasted effort though. While in London, Detective Collins had the blood samples and fingerprints analyzed by the British Home Office Forensic Laboratories. Their technology was far superior to that of Hong Kong.

That said, back in the 80s, forensic science was still in its infancy. All the technicians could do was identify the blood type of each sample. The fingerprints were another matter entirely. The prints were partial and degraded, with all unique features indistinguishable. In other words, they would be useless in finding a match. The investigation had hit a dead end once more. However, this time, it seemed as though it might be the final one.

Investigator's last remaining hope was that an officer on the ground would stumble upon a clue or eyewitness. You heard right. At that stage, any hope of solving the Bramerhill murders was placed firmly on chance. Part 6: The Medium and the Money The Royal Hong Kong Police grew increasingly impatient as they waited to chance upon a lead. However, as chance would have it, a potential lead came to them.

One day, a local fruit seller walked into the police station in Wan Chai, armed with a message from the afterlife. The self-proclaimed medium insisted that she had been possessed by the ghost of Nicola Myers who, apparently, had a lot to say. The slack-jawed officers were skeptical of the woman's almost laughable claims. With that being said, Hong Kongers were a superstitious bunch and, frankly, they had nothing to lose.

Evidently, the woman had anticipated that her story would be met with reservations and brought her husband with her as testimony. He vouched for his wife's claims, insisting that she often woke up in the middle of the night, pale as a ghost and speaking perfect English, accent and all. The police found this particularly persuasive as the woman struggled to speak a word of English while at the station. So they decided to indulge her.

they had just the man for the job, Dr. Yong Chew Thao, a clinical hypnotist who worked with law enforcement and was the first to be sanctioned by the Hong Kong government. Dr. Yong was brought down to the station a few days later with instructions to hypnotize the woman and assess the legitimacy of her story. The police hoped he would uncover valuable information buried deep within her subconscious. As it turned out, the answers were closer to the surface than they previously thought.

The moment the woman stepped foot inside the station, she gestured to the superintendent heading the case and said, in perfect English, "You, help me!" After interviewing her, Dr. Young concluded that she was not an eyewitness to the crime, nor did she have any connections to the victims. However, to his disbelief, the woman blurted out several important details about the case. Some of the information she offered was already known by the police.

Interestingly, some details that seemed trivial at the time were later proven to be true. Dr. Young has since voiced his astonishment about his experience with the fruit-selling medium. "I always find it unusual how she was perfectly correct. A lot of people say it really was the ghost of Nicholas speaking through her," he said in an interview.

Perhaps it truly was some unexplained paranormal phenomenon. Or, more likely, the woman had simply overheard a conversation she shouldn't have and posed as a medium to protect herself. Whatever the case, the Royal Hong Kong Police knew that her statement would never be admissible in court. But it certainly piqued their interest. What if she wasn't the only one?

With this in mind, they put out a reward for any information that would lead to the arrest of Kenneth and Nicholas Killers. Hoping to coax other eavesdroppers into coming forward, they offered potential informants 50,000 Hong Kong dollars, which was just over 2400 US dollars back then, and clearly not enough to tempt anyone into risking their lives. The police never received a single tip, not one,

The most extensive and expensive criminal investigation the city had ever seen had stalled for the umpteenth time. If that wasn't humiliating enough, a local resident eventually stepped in to lend the police a hand. In November 1985, an anonymous Hong Kong businessman threw 500,000 Hong Kong dollars of his own money into the pot

The reward now stood at a staggering and unprecedented 550,000 Hong Kong dollars, which would equate to about 70,000 US dollars today. Just enough to tempt the entire city into having a crack at the case. The police's tip line was immediately flooding with a deluge of unsubstantiated accusations and outright lies. However, submerged within the sea of useless information lay the lead investigators had been praying for.

Detective Collins received a tip that a certain triad foot soldier had bragged about killing a western couple on Bramer Hill. Who dared to rat out a triad foot soldier, you ask? Well, one of his own. Part 7. A Broken Oath and a Bloody Tale

To the detective's surprise, the caller was none other than a lieutenant of the Fuk Ye-hing Triad Society. Yes, a senior member of an infamous triad syndicate ignored his oath of unwavering loyalty and incriminated one of his own underlings, 24-year-old Pang Shun-yi. According to Dave Hodson, loyalty means little to the triads of today. "People do things for money. It's as simple as that," he said.

Still, the police weren't taking any chances.

Detective Collins probed the lieutenant about the source of his information and was offered an all-too-convenient answer. Apparently, several months earlier, Peng showed up at the local Mahjong parlor, a Chinese gambling den that doubled as the Fuqiyahing's headquarters. The lowly foot soldier seemed unusually pleased with himself, prompting the lieutenant to discreetly listen in as he boasted to their boss about his latest exploit.

Allegedly, Pong prattled on and on, not noticing the rage that boiled beneath his master's mask of approval. In short, the foot soldier had fucked up. According to the lieutenant, their boss kept his composure long enough to hear just how badly his tight-lipped smile tightened as he heard how Pong had murdered two teenage foreigners. It vanished altogether when he heard that the foot soldier apparently had nothing to show for it.

The boss erupted into a blind fury. He hurled insult after insult at Pong for being so foolish. Next, he hurled chairs. Finally, with little furniture left to fling at the terrified foot soldier, he brandished a blade. That was the moment our triad traitor apparently became the savior of his story. The lieutenant claimed that he threw himself between the two and convinced their boss that another murder meant another mess to clean up.

At that point in the story, the detective's doubts turned into pure disbelief until the lieutenant revealed a few telling details. Desperate to rake in the reward money, the gangster retold the bloody tale of the Bramer Hill murders as Pong had told it. Apparently, the murders had been the result of a mugging gone wrong

Though he seemed disinclined to get too detailed, the lieutenant did concede that Pong made off with a pair of Nike sneakers. Detective Collins was stunned into silence as he grappled with a maelstrom of clashing emotions. He felt sickened by the notion that the teenagers' lives were worth little more than a simple pair of sneakers. That said, he couldn't help but smile. The lieutenant's story lined up with what was originally dismissed as an absurd motive for the murders.

Even better, he had revealed a pivotal piece of evidence the police had intentionally kept from the public: Kenneth's missing Nikes. For the first time in months, they had hope. More so, they had a suspect. All they had to do now was find Pang Shunyi. Investigators wasted no time in tracking down the Fuk Ye-hing foot soldier.

They pulled his ID photo from Hong Kong's identity card database and distributed it to every single cop in the city. However, even with hundreds of patrolmen on the prowl, Pong proved to be frustratingly elusive. With each week that passed by, the investigator's newfound hope started to wane, until an unnamed officer all but walked into him, that is.

Late one evening, the officer found himself stuck in a heaving crowd of sweaty, shoulder-to-shoulder pedestrians in Tin Hau, a district at the base of Bramer Hill. Though small, the district was densely packed with restaurants, shops, and people. He knew it would be impossible to single out one suspect from the sea of fast-moving faces. Yet, as chance would have it, that's precisely what happened.

The officer waded through the crowd, stationing himself next to a quiet shopfront. He returned to face the street and, miraculously, locked eyes with the one and only, Peng Shunyi. The officer instinctively grabbed his shoulder with an iron grip. Peng briefly considered making a run for it, but was thrown into the back of a police van before he could finish contemplating escape. It was over.

Unsurprisingly, the foot soldier, like his lieutenant, didn't need much probing to abandon the Fook Ye-hing oaths of loyalty. After a few minutes of light questioning, Pang immediately took his four partners in crime down with him: 25-year-old Choo Wai-man, 20-year-old Tam Zee-phoon, 17-year-old Chung Yau-hung, and 16-year-old Wan Sam-lung. All four were rounded up by 11:30 PM the very next night.

After seven long months and thousands of Hong Kong dollars, investigators were certain that they had captured the Bramerhill murderers. The lieutenant had pointed the finger at his minion who, in turn, had pointed the finger at his own underlings while wearing the Nike sneakers he had ripped from Kenneth's dead body. Still, investigators didn't have any evidence that would secure their convictions.

They had no witnesses nor viable forensic evidence. Simply put, they needed a confession. Part 8: The Confession Most of the gang tried to deny their involvement. However, Won Sam Lung, the youngest of the bunch, was consumed by remorse for his part in the slaughters.

He sought to atone for their sadistic crimes and saw confessing as the first step in a long road to reparations. Be warned, the 16-year-old's confession was riddled with particularly vile and previously unheard details. Listener discretion is advised. On April 20th, the gang spent the day casing North Point for unlocked cars and unsuspecting victims to steal from.

After skulking around for hours in the blistering heat, they reconvened empty-handed. Pong was determined to change that. He lived in a tiny wooden hut in an abandoned quarry near Bramer Hill and knew precisely what treasures lay in its forests: a government aerial station littered with copper cables ripe for the picking. The foot soldier promptly dragged his underlings on a grueling trek through the Bramer Hill countryside and up its now infamous slope.

Their patience wore thin with each step under the blazing sun. It all but disappeared when they discovered that stealing live cables from a government facility was harder than Pong had claimed. The gang was forced to turn back, which only inflamed their already foul moods. As they trudged down the rugged terrain, they spotted a young couple sitting alone on a quiet, remote pathway. It was Kenneth and Nicola.

Pong reasoned that they would be loaded with valuables. They were Westerners after all. The foot soldier ordered his underlings to split up and rush the couple from either end of the path, cutting off their only exits. That's precisely what they did. Kenneth and Nicola were surrounded in seconds. Pong and his underlings taunted and shoved the couple, demanding they hand over everything they had. Tragically, the teenagers had nothing but a single dollar and a few textbooks.

That simply wasn't good enough for Pong. He refused to leave empty-handed again and wouldn't take no for an answer. Even after Kenneth and Nicola turned out their pockets and emptied their bags as proof, Pong grew increasingly belligerent as his demands were met with nothing but apologies. In the end, he exploded. Kenneth pulled Nicola behind him, trying to shield her from the inevitable. It was no use. They were outnumbered.

The 17-year-old fought back with an animalistic ferocity, but was eventually overpowered and pinned to the ground. Pong ordered his underlings to tie the couple up and finish Kenneth off. Surprisingly, even they seemed reluctant to beat a boy who was one arm down and bound on the ground. However, they quickly obeyed after Pong threatened that they would be next.

The gang pounced on Kenneth and mob mentality took over, leading to them mercilessly beating him to a pulp. Fists became feet, and feet became thick pieces of wood. Their frenzied attack continued until well after the 17-year-old had stopped moving. While Pong's underlings carried out his dirty work, he turned his attention to Nicola, whose eyes were fixated on her boyfriend.

According to Wan Sam Lung, the foot soldier sprang on the woman like a hungry dog. He told the battered 18-year-old that he would set her free if she would let him rape her. Mustering a courage few could ever manage, Nicola refused. An irate Pong then dragged her down the hillside, where he raped her repeatedly while his underlings kept watch. They smoked cigarettes, swapped small talk, and, ultimately, on Pong's orders, joined in.

Once the gang had finished taking turns with her, Pong decided that they couldn't allow the couple to live. "No witnesses," he declared. He mounted Kenneth's motionless body, ripped the sling from his arm, and strangled him with it. Satisfied, the foot soldier turned his attention to Nicola once more and ordered his gang to do the same. The ensuing attack was sadistic and drawn out, lasting well over two hours.

The 18-year-old was tormented, tortured, and violated with bottles and branches. Out of respect for her loved ones, I'll leave it at that. Nicola was abandoned on the hillside, barely breathing, and left to die alone. Part 9. The Punishment. Armed with Juan's confession, investigators turned their attention to his co-accused.

The boys were transferred to separate police stations, where they were questioned over and over again for several months. They had no chance to corroborate their stories and, after Juan had come clean, no chance to feign innocence either. Eventually, unable to withstand the relentless interrogations any longer, each culprit agreed to sign a formal confession.

the public was shocked to hear that the Bramerhill murders had been committed not by criminal masterminds, but by petty thieves and beggars. Even worse, of the monsters who so mercilessly murdered the two teenage expats, two were teenagers themselves. Of course, this revelation mattered little to the courts. It was decided that all five boys would be charged and prosecuted as adults in Hong Kong's High Court.

An adult punishment for an adult crime. The police had built an impenetrable case for the prosecution and were eager for the criminal proceedings to finally commence. They had a considerable amount of evidence against the boys. After signing formal confessions, the accused were suddenly itching to comply with every request.

They hoped that their cooperation would lead to shorter sentences. So much so, that they actually reenacted the crime on camera. It was an open and shut case at that stage. Until the boys submitted their pleas. Won Sam Lung was the only one who entered a guilty plea. Astoundingly, despite admitting their guilt on paper, tape, and film, the rest of the boys pleaded not guilty. Their desperate last-minute decision made going to trial inevitable.

Though frustrating to say the least, it would do little more than drag their case out. The evidence against them was indisputable and proved to be the final nail in their proverbial but well-deserved coffins when they finally stood before a judge and jury in November of 1986. While the Crown Prosecution presented their opening statements, a heaving crowd of journalists and citizens swarmed the courthouse and spilled over into the surrounding streets.

Even 19 months after Kenneth and Nicola's mutilated bodies were found, the Bramerhill murder case still commanded an infectious fascination from all of Hong Kong. Over 56 days, prosecutors introduced more than 150 pieces of evidence and sent 37 witnesses to the stand. They strove to etch in the jury's minds the reality of the suffering the teenagers were forced to endure at the callous hands of the accused.

As expected, it was a near effortless victory in which the prosecution's star witness, Juan Samlung, played a notable role. His gruesome testimony detailed the prolonged and unprovoked torture, violence, and, in Nicola's case, sexual abuse the gang inflicted. The adolescent accused, who had already pleaded guilty, was pardoned from standing trial and was instead held at Her Majesty's pleasure.

Speaking frankly, this flowery phrase simply meant that Juan would be detained indefinitely until they could figure out what to do with him. Finally, on January 20th, 1987, the jury had heard enough. The defense could do little to persuade even one juror to ignore the blatant evidence of guilt, much of which was provided by the accused themselves.

In the end, deliberations took only five hours and all of the accused were found guilty on all charges. Pang Shunyi, Tam Xifeng, and Chu Huimin were sentenced to death, whilst the second youngest of the scumbags, Cheng Yaoheng, was condemned to join Wan Samlung in prison at Her Majesty's pleasure.

For once, justice was rightfully served as the monsters of our story were slapped with sentences deserving of the sadistic crimes they committed. However, today's tale is far from over. Part 10: The End To understand what happened to the Bramerhill murderers and why, I must bring your attention, once more, to the confusing state of colonial Hong Kong.

In 1987, the death penalty was both a reality and a pretense for serious offenders. Following Britain's abolishment of its own death penalty in 1965, the Crown Colony followed suit one year later, but would only actually follow through in 1993. So, what does this mean for Pong, Tam, and Chu?

Hong Kong had merely suspended capital punishment, and the potential to be sentenced to death remained on paper and in limbo. Any criminal who received the death penalty between 1966 and 1993 would have their sentence duly commuted to life imprisonment by the city's governor, which is exactly what happened to our terrible trio. They were imprisoned indefinitely at Stanley Prison, a maximum security facility on Hong Kong Island.

without any mention of potential release dates nor opportunities to appeal. Wang and Cheng, who were minors at the time of their sentencing, remained detained at Her Majesty's pleasure in the very same penitentiary and under the very same conditions. However, once the British monarch relinquished control of the region to China in 1997,

That changed. The subsequent handover of Hong Kong left the fate of the Bramer Hill murderers up to the new and far more unforgiving Chinese government, or, more specifically, up to Tung Chee-Hwa, the first chief executive of the newly sovereign region.

Tung didn't take this responsibility lightly and took it upon himself to consult both Kenneth and Nicholas' families before making what turned out to be a sensational decision. In 2004, after serving 19 years of his 27-year sentence, Juan Sam Long was released from prison, not only with Tung's blessing but, unbelievably, with Hugh and Maggie McBride's forgiveness.

The grieving parents had written to the chief executive and implored him to grant Juan's freedom. They later explained their incredible act of mercy in an interview with the Scotsman, a Scottish publication. "We believe in mercy and forgiveness, and we believe that those who understand and regret their evil actions and seek forgiveness should be forgiven. We believe that Juan Sam Long does understand and regret his actions

We hope that he will live the rest of his life in peace, quietly and constructively, with respect for all his fellow men and women." Hugh explained. In the end, Juan lived up to the McBride's beliefs and honored their wishes in his post-prison life. He gave a statement to the press following his release, in which he declared that he deserved his punishment and the nightmares that accompanied the knowledge of what he had done.

Teary-eyed and shaking, Juan addressed the McBride's selfless compassion saying, "I have brought them enormous sorrow and I know that. In my whole life, I can never compensate them for what they have lost. I'm sorry for them. I'm also thankful for their forgiveness and mercy." He added that. Although he didn't deserve it, the couple taught him that love can change a person. Juan went on to live a peaceful life, free from crime, just as the McBrides had hoped.

The rest of the Bramerhill murderers, who initially denied their guilt and didn't even bother to feign remorse, wouldn't get off that easy. Chung Yau Hung's original sentence was upheld until April of 2006, when he was given the opportunity to stand before a parole board and plead his case. He begged the court to bestow him the same mercy afforded to Wan. In a comical turn of events, instead of lightening his sentence, they lengthened it.

Chung was slapped with a further five years in prison and promptly told to be grateful it wasn't made any longer. Even so, he managed to successfully appeal the decision and was eventually released in December of 2007, just over a decade earlier than he deserved. What about our terrible trio, who had been living in limbo after their sentences were commuted to life imprisonment? Well, they got precisely what was coming to them.

The newly appointed executive chief reviewed their cases and chose to stand by the Crown Jury's 1987 decision. Peng Shunyi, Tam Zifun, and Chu Huimin were left to remain behind bars indefinitely without any mention of potential release dates nor opportunities to appeal. Only Tam managed to make it out of the penitentiary gates, though not in the way he had hoped.

In 2009, he was driven out of Stanley Prison and straight into the loading bay of Cape Collision Crematorium after succumbing to a long and likely painful battle with cancer. In my opinion, he is the only one of the Bramer Hill murderers who truly got what he deserved. Hey guys, thanks for listening. I want to give you all a quick heads up regarding some upcoming political ads you may start hearing leading up to this year's presidential election.

These ads do not represent my own political viewpoint. So if you hear a political ad play on the podcast and it's not in my own voice, then it has absolutely nothing to do with me personally as a podcaster. Thank you again for being a dedicated listener of mine, and I can't wait to have another amazing year with you guys. I'll see you in the next episode.