Chinese student who drowned in Liffey may have been victim of online fraud

Seán McCárthaigh

A young Chinese student who drowned in the River Liffey just over a month after she had moved to Ireland may have been the victim of online fraud as well as being involved in a romantic relationship that ended, an inquest has heard.

Haoyu Zhang (23) was pronounced dead at around 4am on January 18th, 2024, shortly after her body was recovered from the water at Inns Quay by a Dublin Fire Brigade rescue boat.

A sitting of Dublin District Coroners Court last week heard evidence that a number of “goodbye” notes were found in the bedroom of Ms Zhang’s lodgings in Dublin.

The deceased’s father, Yanlei Zhang, who travelled to Ireland from China with his wife for the inquest, gave evidence that his daughter had arrived in Ireland at the start of December 2023.

Mr Zhang said she had intended to stay in Ireland to do a postgraduate degree in Trinity College to help fulfil her ultimate ambition of becoming an English teacher back in China.

He told the coroner, Clare Keane, that it was her first time ever to travel outside China and she was very excited about going to study in Ireland, although she had no friends or relatives here.

The inquest heard Ms Zhang’s parents had regular contact with her via video chat two to three times per week.

“Every time we spoke, she appeared happy. She never appeared sad,” said Mr Zhang.

He added that she had never spoken about any worries and had no financial struggles.

Mr Zhang explained that they sent her €1,000 every two weeks excluding money for rent and her tuition fees. He also confirmed that she had no issues with drugs or alcohol.

Mr Zhang said his daughter appeared normal and talked about plans for going for a walk and shopping during their last video call on January 13th, 2024.

He also sent her a text on January 18th, 2024, to remind her to call her grandfather which went unreplied.

The inquest heard the deceased’s parents also established their daughter had been in contact with other friends in China in the days before her death and had not raised any concerns with them.

In reply to questions from the coroner, Mr Zhang confirmed that his daughter was able to swim.

The deceased’s landlady, Joan Meehan, said the student, who had asked to be called Claudia, was “very happy but kept to herself a lot.”

Ms Meehan said she tried to encourage her to go out and meet friends but that she chose to stay in writing her journals most of the time.

She told the inquest that Ms Zhang always went to her classes in the Centre of English Studies language school on Dame Street on time and would return straight afterwards to their home off the Navan Road.

However, Ms Meehan said the student had her dinner in her room on January 17th, 2024, which was out of character for her and then did not eat it.

She recalled that Ms Zhang explained that she was not feeling well and would not go to school the next day.

The witness said she checked on Ms Zhang in her room at about 8pm that evening and recalled that it appeared that the student had been crying even though she denied it when asked.

Ms Meehan said she woke up at some stage later that night when it sounded like someone was leaving the house.

The landlady said Ms Zhang was reported missing to gardaí after she became worried when the young woman did not return home the following evening and the language school confirmed that she had not been in class.

Ms Meehan said her husband, Paul, checked the student’s bedroom and found five notes on a desk, one of which was in English addressed to her which thanked her for being a lovely host.

The couple were contacted later that evening at around 5pm who informed them they had found a body believed to be Ms Zhang.

Another witness, Patrick Brien, told the inquest that he was walking along the River Liffey opposite Ushers Quay at around 2:55am on January 18th, 2022, when he saw a red jacket in the water.

Mr Brien said he alerted emergency services after he was looking at the object for about five minutes before he realised that it was “not just a jacket.”

Garda Conor Hearns told the coroner that the river was high and fast flowing on the night while conditions were freezing.

Garda Hearns said gardaí conducting a search along the Liffey quays for evidence of how Ms Zhang got in the water were slipping on icy footpaths.

He gave evidence that Ms Zhang’s “goodbye” letters in Chinese indicated that she had been in a romantic relationship that had ended.

Garda Hearns said it seemed that the deceased had a desire to start a family with this person but was upset she may have made him unhappy.

He also revealed that an examination of Ms Zhang’s devices revealed that she may have been a victim of some fraud in the days before her death which was the subject of a separate ongoing investigation by the Garda cybercrime unit.

However, Garda Hearns said the potential offence had occurred outside Ireland and the case had not identified any person of interest in relation to Ms Zhang’s death.

He confirmed that gardaí were satisfied that there was nothing suspicious about her death.

Garda Hearns said an extensive search of CCTV cameras located between Ms Zhang’s lodgings and the Liffey quays had been unable to trace any of her movements that night.

The coroner noted that a postmortem showed the victim had died as a result of drowning.

Recording an open verdict, Dr Keane explained that while there was evidence about the “goodbye” letters and Ms Zhang being upset, there needed to be proof “beyond reasonable doubt” about the deceased’s intention to return a verdict of suicide.

The coroner said the open verdict reflected the fact that not all the details of her death were known and she could not discount the possibility that Ms Zhang had slipped into the river.

Offering her condolences to the student’s parents, Dr Keane remarked: “It is tragic to see her dreams cut short in this manner and your dreams for her.”

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can freephone the Samaritans 24 hours a day for confidential support at 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org.  

You can also freephone the national Bereavement Support Line run by the HSE and Irish Hospice Foundation at 1800-80 70 77 (Monday-Friday 10am-1pm), and the contact information for a range of mental health supports is available at mentalhealthireland.ie/get-support/. 

In the case of an emergency, or if you or someone you know is at risk of suicide or self-harm, dial 999/112.