Chinese immigrants Shum and Toki Sang were in many ways living an American dream. In early 1971, they owned two successful restaurants in New Jersey, and lived in a pleasant two-story home on North Beverwyck Road, the first floor of which they rented out to about a dozen of their employees.
On the evening of Sunday, January 18th, thirty-nine-year-old Shum Sang left one of the restaurants, The House of Chen, in Wayne, New Jersey, and then drove the approximately thirteen miles to the couple’s second restaurant, The House of Sang, where his wife Toki had been working. The pair then drove the two blocks home, arriving there at around nine p.m.
Shortly after pulling into their driveway, however, the Sangs were attacked by an unknown assailant or assailants. Both Shum and Toki were shot with a handgun of unclear caliber, moments after they exited their vehicle. Forty-one-year-old Toki was killed at the scene, while Shum passed away not long after being taken to St. Clare’s Hospital.
Police, fearful that the shooter or shooters were still inside the Sangs’ home, approached the scene with the utmost caution, entering the property clad in bulletproof vests and carrying shotguns. They also dispensed tear gas into the house before forcing their way inside. The precautions, as it turned out, proved to be unnecessary, for the killer or killers had fled the scene, leaving no trace.
Authorities questioned the Sangs’ neighbors, tenants, and daughter, but none could come up with any idea of why the couple had been targeted for what appeared to be an execution. No suspects were ever detained, and neither motive nor murder weapon was ever found.
Crime Immemorial 