How texts with an undercover cop revealed location of missing man’s body

An undercover cop from Western Australia who posed as a worried family member played a key role in finding where a missing man had been buried.

A Facebook conversation with an undercover cop and the exchange of $50,000 led detectives straight to the shallow grave in country NSW where a missing Malaysian man’s body was buried a year earlier.

When Jacky Wong went missing, his family was desperate for answers and turned to social media for help.

His relative Bruce Wong, who felt helpless in Western Australia, posted a picture of Jacky and shared it in Chinese groups across the country.

When Junqi Huang saw it — 10 months after he helped bury Jacky’s body – he created a new account under the name ‘Jimmy’, and immediately messaged Bruce.

He told Bruce he knew exactly where his Jacky’s body was buried – but he wouldn’t give it up unless $50,000 was transferred into his bank account.

Police searching Malaysian national Jacky Chong Kai Wong. Picture: NSW Police

Three months after the message was first sent, an undercover cop from Western Australian Police posed as Bruce – before assuming the name ‘Howe’ and striking up a conversation with Huang pretending to be Jacky’s family friend.

Again, Huang was clear – demanding $50,000 or no information would be shared.

Police digging for Jacky Wong’s body.

When ‘Howe’ asked the offender how he could assist in the recovery of the Jacky’s body, Huang replied “Geo Location, address and photos. “I will give you everything”.

In the days following, Huang sent Howe his bank details, with police facilitating a $5000 deposit into his account.

But, Huang still refused to give up any information, ordering an additional $45,000 was deposited, or he would deactivate his account and stop communicating with them.

Some two weeks later, ‘Howe’ sent the offender a photo of the house at 185 Killongbutta Road Killongbutta, asking Huang if that was the location where the deceased had been working, to which he replied “yes”.

Huang told the police officer he needed the rest of the money by February 20, or he would block him.

Two days before the deadline, police facilitated a $45,000 cash deposit into Huang’s account. However, after it was withdrawn, Huang blocked the undercover officer without giving up the pin point location of the body.

But they already had the key piece of information they needed – Jacky’s body was buried somewhere on the 44 hectare property in Killongbutta.

A statement from Huang a month later confirmed the exact location of the grave – with detectives locating the remains within 72 hours.

Originally published as How texts with an undercover cop revealed location of missing man’s body