Richard Charles Reed was ruled guilty of the murder of alleged money launderer Jian Jun Zhu in a Japanese restaurant in Richmond, BC. [Image: Shutterstock.com]

Zhu murdered in restaurant

A Richmond, British Colombia man has been found guilty of murdering alleged casino money launderer Jian Jun Zhu in 2020.

Richard Charles Reed was convicted by Supreme Court Justice Jeanne Watchuk of murdering Zhu in the Japanese restaurant Manzo in Richmond. Reed had been dining with Zhu when he opened fire with a 45-caliber Norinco semi-automatic pistol.

An associate of Zhu, Paul “King” Jin was also present and wounded in the shooting, but Reed was found not guilty of his attempted murder.

Reed was convicted in a judge-only trial with no jury

Reed had previously called a friend to testify that he admitted that Jin was the intended target and he had killed the wrong man, but this was later ruled inadmissible. Reed was convicted in a judge-only trial with no jury, which is legal in Canada where authorities believe there is a significant risk of jury intimidation or tampering. A sentencing date is yet to be announced.

Reed’s three accomplices

Police found the murder weapon when they searched Reed’s apartment, as well as a loaded magazine with Reed’s fingerprints.

Reed was in contact with three other men in the vicinity around the time of the shooting, who are believed to have been involved in the attack.

A second man, Jack Qin, organized the meal and was also later shot in April 2021

Jin Cai was also dining at the restaurant, but left minutes before the shooting occurred. He was later murdered at his Vancouver home in 2021. A second man, Jack Qin, organized the meal and was also later shot in April 2021, but survived and testified at the trial, denying ordering the hit.

A third man, Gordon Ma, was seen on surveillance associating with Reed before the murder and had spoken over the phone to Cai before and after the shooting, but his whereabouts are unknown.

Defense lawyers claimed that Ma could have been responsible for the murder, as the surveillance cameras on site had not picked up the actual shooting.

Allegations against victim

Zhu was a notorious figure who had once been at the center of one of the biggest money laundering cases in Canadian history.

He was alleged to have laundered hundreds of millions of dollars from criminal activities through casinos in Vancouver via his Silver International currency exchange business.

Zhu walked free, however, after prosecutors accidentally revealed the name of a key government witness. Deciding that continuing with the prosecution would place the witness in extreme danger, the judge eventually stayed the case.

Later, in 2019, Supreme Court Justice Austin Cullen’s commission into money laundering mentioned Zhu several times, but he ultimately faced no charges.