Victoria’s highest court is reconsidering the prison term of an international student convicted of killing two sex workers within a 24-hour period in December 2022. Xiaozheng Lin, 25, received a 14-year maximum sentence in October 2024 after pleading guilty to two counts of manslaughter, avoiding murder trials for the deaths of Yuqi Luo, 31, and Hyun Sook Jeon, 51.
The Office of Public Prosecutions has launched an appeal arguing the sentence is “manifestly inadequate” for the severity of the crimes. Director of Public Prosecutions Brendan Kissane KC contended before the Court of Appeal that while individual sentences for each killing were appropriate, the four-year cumulative addition for the second victim failed to adequately reflect the separate nature of the offenses.
According to court proceedings, Lin strangled Ms. Luo in her South Melbourne apartment in the early hours of December 27, 2022, after becoming enraged when she requested additional payment for services. Following the attack, he showered on the premises and stole money, handbags, and electronics. Later that same day, Lin visited Ms. Jeon’s Docklands residence where, after consensual paid intercourse, he fatally assaulted her and stole her bank cards.
Sentencing judge Justice Stephen Kaye described the attacks as “unprovoked” and noted Lin showed “no mercy” to either victim, leaving them in “severely debilitated states” while callously taking their possessions. The defense maintained the original sentence was “entirely appropriate” and cited legal precedent preventing appeal courts from substituting sentencing opinions without clear error.
The three-judge appellate panel has reserved its decision for delivery at a later date. Lin faces deportation upon completion of his sentence.