Convicted thug now faces murder rap in savage beating

Posted: March 22, 2012

A MAN WHO viciously attacked a Chinese takeout owner in West Oak Lane nearly two years ago was charged Wednesday with murder because the victim died of his injuries last week.

The District Attorney's Office filed the murder charge against Malik Niblack, who is serving a six-to-15-year sentence in state prison after having pleaded guilty last year to attempted murder in the attack.

On the morning of June 8, 2010, Niblack, then 21, ambushed owner Jicun Wu outside his takeout store on 66th Avenue near Uber Street. Niblack punched Wu to the ground, then kicked him at least 10 times, severely damaging his pancreas and intestines.

Wu, 44, died last Thursday at Einstein's Willowcrest rehabilitative facility. He had been at the facility or the next-door Albert Einstein Medical Center ever since the attack, never recovering enough to return home.

The assault followed an argument that Niblack, who lived near the takeout, had with Wu's wife. Niblack had accused her of charging him 25 cents too much for something he had bought, she has said.

Wu and his wife, Qinhui Chen, came from Fujian Province in southeastern China about a decade ago, leaving behind their two young sons. They opened their business in 2009.

The couple's two sons, now 13 and 16, just arrived in Philly from China a little over a week ago, after receiving their visas. They had not seen their parents since their father and mother left China. They were able to see their father just before he died.


Contact Julie Shaw at 215-854-2592 or shawj@phillynews.com.

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