Man sentenced to life for drugging and killing Chinese immigrant in Perth hotel

In a Perth courtroom, 27-year-old Ruihong Nie was handed a life term, with a non-parole period of 17 years, for the murder of Nongyu Peng, a 42-year-old Chinese immigrant who had moved to Australia to give her daughter a fresh start. Nie, who had previously signed a statutory declaration to aid Peng's immigration, lured her to a hotel room and gave her a significant dose of GHB, causing her death. The judge heard that Nie's motive was to obtain money he believed his mother was owed by accessing Peng's phone.

In addition to the murder conviction, Nie received separate sentences for raping, drugging and stealing from a different woman, to be served at the same time. Peng's 14-year-old daughter, Eva, who had traveled from China for the trial, read a victim impact statement describing the trauma of losing her mother. The sentencing underscores the severe penalties for violent crimes involving drugging and exploitation of vulnerable migrants.