The Murder of Mee Kuen Chong
Updated: Feb 19
Mee Kue Chong, a 67-year-old Malaysian woman, was found dead on June 27 in the town of Salcombe, 200 miles away from her home in Wembley, London after being reported missing on June 10. Her body was found decapitated in the woods off of Bennett Road. Police reported that her body had likely been there for "some days.”
Chong, who was also known as Deborah by many within her community, had been living in Wembley for over 30 years. She was described by a fellow church-goer as “a very vulnerable person, ” who also described Chong to be, “very innocent, and very trusting of people.” A post-mortem autopsy report could not find a conclusive cause of her death. But on July 6, 36 year-old Jemma Mitchell from Brondesbury Park was arrested and charged with the Murder of Chong.
The police are continuing to piece together the events between June 10, when Chong was reported to be missing, and June 27, when her body was found. Crime scenes remain at residences in North West London (where Chong lived) and the Woodlands in South Devon where Chong was found. Chong’s family, who live in Malaysia, have been contacted and have been working with the police to understand what happened.
Since the UK’s first lockdown due to COVID-19, Britain’s East and Southeast Asian (ESEA) communities have seen a 300% increase in hate crimes. These hate crimes are a blatant display of xenophobia towards Asian individuals. This treatment also extends to political rhetoric. Sarah Owen, a member of parliament in the Labour Party, reported that two fellow members of parliament referred to Chinese people as “those evil b----s.” These members are both unnamed. The hatred and bigotry that appears behind these political, power-holding machinations is reflective of how charged and ingrained hatred towards East and Southeast Asians has become.
Dear Asian Youth London, a chapter of our organization, has put out the following statement:
“We are incredibly saddened to learn about this horrific killing of Ms Chong. Whether racially motivated or not, her initial disappearance for more than a fortnight had not been widely reported. Even now, it is clear that mainstream media outlets have given little to no coverage on this brutal incident that has taken the life of an elderly Asian woman.
This highlights the discriminating bias in main