A former New Zealand Police detective turned private eye who was paid to tail Auckland businesswoman Elizabeth Zhong in the months before her grisly death acknowledged to jurors today that he was knowingly breaking the law while doing so.
Jun "Jimmy" Jin was hired in July 2020 by Fang Sun, an estranged business partner of Zhong's who is now on trial for her murder.
Jurors spent most of the day reviewing multiple photos and videos that the 19-year police veteran took of Zhong and her East Auckland home starting in July 2020 on through to November of that year, when she was found stabbed to death in the boot of her blood-smeared Land Rover.
To help keep tabs of the 55-year-old when he wasn't parked for hours near her home, Jin said he illegally placed a tracking device underneath her vehicle that he had purchased from China.
"I knew it was illegal to put a tracking device on someone's vehicle without consent," he said. "But I justified my actions by thinking I was doing the right thing, that I was investigating a crime."
Police found Zhong's body on the afternoon of November 28, 2020. Authorities believe she had been stabbed over 20 times the night before, when an intruder entered the bedroom of her East Auckland home.
Prosecutors said at the start of the trial last month that Sun had been furious with Zhong, believing that she had lost him and his family more than $24 million in investments. The two were engaged in a heated civil battle over control of their company, Sunbow Ltd.
The private investigator told jurors that Sun - who he referred to in WeChat messages as "junior brother", a term of endearment for people who were alumni of the same university - seemed under immense pressure throughout the time he worked for him.
"I've had many conversations with the accused and he said many times that Ms Zhong had ruined his life," Jin said.
"Basically, during the day Mr Sun would have to deal with matters here in New Zealand ... court hearings, meeting lawyers, et cetera. But ... late at night he would have to deal with pressure from China, pressure from investors."
The private investigator told jurors he began discussions with Sun around July 2020 and agreed to begin surveillance. He first attached a tracking device to Zhong's SUV after following her to a Chinese supermarket in Mt Wellington, and replaced it when the battery would run out.
"The gist of it is that Ms Zhong had defrauded millions of dollars and he's going to court with her, and Ms Zhong may not want to go to court," he said of his understanding of why Sun hired him. "I could tell that he was frustrated.
"Some of these Chinese investors were friends who trusted Mr Sun with their money. But now all their money was in jeopardy, causing these Chinese investors to constantly harass Mr Sun."
Because the two were alumni of the same university in China, Jin said they never signed a contract. But Sun transferred Chinese currency, amounting to roughly $15,000 in New Zealand dollars, to an account in China belonging to Jin's brother.
"I basically went to the address when I had time," he said. "I would sit nearby the address for some time and watch the house. I would take photos of the address and send them to Mr Sun via WeChat."
He would sit in his Toyota Camry for an hour or two at a time and look into the home's large dining room window.
"My purpose was to ascertain whether or not Ms Zhong was still staying there, and if possible find out who was visiting her or where she had been going to," he explained.
The investigator's exchanges with Sun described Zhong's movement often in minute-by-minute detail.
"The light was just turned on in the house," he said in an audio message around 6pm on July 27. "I also saw someone walking around just now. Second floor.
"The figure inside can be seen by the window light. It seemed like they were opening the refrigerator just now."
A few minutes later he added: "He/she is the only one in the room on the second floor. He/she should be the only one in the house."
By November 19, just a week before Zhong's slaying and several weeks after her attempted suicide, Jin was sending the defendant video of Zhong going to a mental health facility. He said he followed her a final time on November 25, two days before her death, as she went to SkyCity Casino.
Multiple other witnesses have testified during the trial or submitted statements in which they said they either directly heard Sun make threats against Zhong or were told by Zhong about threats.
Two of them - a couple who visited Elizabeth Zhong at her Otago winery one month before her death - testified today. Both recalled that the Auckland businesswoman was under tremendous stress due to financial strains and threats from a business partner.
"She said things weren't working out with her business partners, and one in particular," said Henry Wong, an animation studio executive who had met Zhong through her company's post-production work on the feature film Mosley. "She said that he had threatened her.
"I don't know the details about the threats, but I know she wasn't able to sleep because of the threats. They were serious."
Henry Wong's wife, Sharon Wong, recalled the same conversation.
"She said that she was threatened by a man and she is very worried," she testified, adding that Zhong mentioned the name of the man who threatened her but she could no longer recall it. "It was a Chinese name, and she did say he was stranded in New Zealand ... because of the pandemic."
Testimony is set to resume tomorrow.