A MAN who suffocated a mother-of-two with 70 feet of sticky tape has been given a life sentence after admitting murder.

Sun Choy, from Mottingham, killed restaurant owner Yuk Ying Phuah with a 'death mask' as he raided her home to pay off gambling and business debts, the Old Bailey heard.

The body of the 42-year-old Vietnamese woman was found dumped at the side of the A20 Sidcup bypass near Chislehurst.

Choy, a Malaysian, was sentenced to life in prison for murder. The judge said he must serve a minimum of 20 years. He was sentenced to 12 years in jail for robbery. Both sentences are to run concurrently.

The judge described the murder as "a cold-blooded brutal summary execution of Mrs Yuk Ying Phuah".

He went on to describe Choy as a very dangerous man who, up until the last moment, tried to avoid any responsibility for his actions.

Choy, 39, a vegetable delivery driver who supplied Chinese businesses in London, had borrowed £2,000 from Mrs Phuah's husband and returned to her home in Meadow Way, Wembley, to steal a further £2,000 in savings she kept in an upstairs bedroom.

William Boyce, prosecuting, said Choy "had huge debts" at the time of the murder on August 8, 2003.

On the day of the killing husband Boon Fatt Phuah had taken the couple's son Thien Poh, 15, and their 13-year-old daughter Wai Yee, to Chinatown, London, before heading to one of their restaurants in Andover, Hampshire.

Mrs Phuah had stayed at home cleaning but when they returned at midnight the windows were open in the house and the lights off.

A sum of £2,000 had disappeared, along with Mrs Phuah.

Her body was found by a pedestrian early the next morning.

Mr Boyce said 70 feet of brown packing tape had been wrapped around Mrs Phuah's face and head and used to bind her hands and wrists.

He added: "Her hands had been bound with many turns of the tape from the fingertips.

"It covered her entire face apart from one eye slit."

DNA belonging to Choy was discovered on the 'death mask'.

His fingerprints were found on a bin-bag used to wrap the victim's body and a drawer underneath her marital bed.

After the killing, Choy dumped the van used to transport the body at Victoria Coach Station then left the country, said Mr Boyce.

Detectives travelled to Malaysia to track down Choy's wife Shit Fan Lee.

Choy gave himself up to police in the Netherlands in January 2006 and was extradited to Britain on April 13.

Choy, whose last known address was Porcupine Close, Mottingham, admitted manslaughter.

He denied murder and robbery, but on Friday, he pleaded guilty to both charges.

Detective Inspector Paul Astbury, who led the murder hunt, said: "This was a horrific and callous murder of a dearly loved wife and mother who was attacked whilst alone in her own home by a man she and her family knew and helped.

"We have never given up trying to find justice for the Phuah family and whilst nothing will bring Mrs Phuah back to them I hope that today's conviction and sentencing will enable them to move forward in the knowledge that her killer is now behind bars.

"I would like to praise the Phuah family for all the dignity and courage they have shown throughout the investigation and I would further like to thank the Chinese communities in Malaysia and particularly London for the help and support they have provided."