On March 23, 1999, Li Yuhui, a Chinese geomancer was sentenced to death for poisoning five Hong Kong women and stealing $150,000, the official Xinhua news agency said. A court in the southern city of Shantou sentenced Li Yuhui to death and confiscated his property after finding him guilty of murdering three Hong Kong women and two teenage girls in July.
He was accused of selling them deadly cups of cyanide in Hong Kong, claiming it would add years to their lives. Li, a 47-year-old Shantou resident, was a self-styled master of feng shui, a traditional Chinese belief that fortunes are decided by stars and the elements. He pleaded not guilty to the charges early this month and insisted he had only acted as an assistant to a second feng shui master who performed the ritual.