Saturday, December 13, 2025
HomeSpotlight Community MediaHitman Pleads No Contest in Murder of Chinatown Dentist

Hitman Pleads No Contest in Murder of Chinatown Dentist

Lili Xu's murder was initially believed to be a hate crime.

By AsAm News

A man will likely serve a life sentence in the murder for hire plot of a dentist in Oakland Chinatown.

Hasheen Bason July 10 pleaded no contest to the charges in the death of Lili Xu in 2022. Prosecutors believe Xu’s boyfriend Nelson Chia hired Bason to kill her in an attempt to win $12 – $14 million in life insurance and assets.

“Chia and Bason planned the day, time and place of the murder. Bason acquired a vehicle, recruited a driver, and waited to ambush Xu a block from the location of (her) appointment,” police said in court records obtained by the Mercury News. “Chia drove Xu to the agreed upon location.”

Chia was arrested two months after the shooting but died by suicide at Santa Rita Jail shortly after being arrested.

Xu’s murder was initially believed to be a hate crime. Read the full story at AsAm news here.

🏷️ Tags | Related Stories

Jury Instructions, Closing Arguments In Epps Trial

Deliberations and a verdict are all that remain in the month-long murder trial of filmmaker and editor Kevin Epps in San Francisco Superior Court. 

America’s Incredibly Shrinking Population

Just Live | U.S. birth rates are falling, immigration is slowing, and population decline looms. Experts explore demographic trends, economic impacts of a shrinking labor force, and global parallels reshaping major economies by 2100.

Fawzia Mirza on Mentoring a New Generation of Muslim Filmmakers 

Filmmaker Fawzia Mirza reflects on how grants and fellowships empower Muslim artists to tell authentic, universal stories that challenge stereotypes and center joy.
00:44:16

UFO Now UAP: Rebranding the Unknown, Set for Disclosure?

A wave of military sightings, whistleblowers, and congressional hearings is reshaping how we talk about the unknown. UFOs, now UAPs are no longer fringe. They’re a question we can’t ignore.