The girlfriend of a murder suspect has been charged and remanded in custody in Hong Kong on suspicion of helping the alleged offender flee to mainland China by boat as police continue to search for the missing woman.
Police also recovered a mobile phone believed to belong to the missing Vietnamese national in Ma Wan, a source confirmed on Friday, but efforts to uncover human remains have been unsuccessful so far.
The suspect, Nguyen Minh Nghia, is believed to have fled Hong Kong after allegedly killing a 49-year-old compatriot who was reported missing last Saturday.
The suspect’s 25-year-old girlfriend, Vy Thi Lieu, appeared at Kowloon City Court on a count of assisting an offender with the intent to impede his apprehension or prosecution.
A charge sheet available for media inspection showed the defendant was a recognisance form holder, which is often granted to asylum seekers and allows them to temporarily stay in the city but not to work, and that she lived in a subdivided flat in Sham Shui Po.
It said the accused had helped Nguyen “escape to [mainland] China by ship” on June 23 “with intent to impede the apprehension or prosecution of that person”, knowing that he had committed murder or other arrestable offences.
The accused did not apply for bail and will be detained until the next hearing in August.
The source said officers had earlier collected some evidence that was not human remains at a location near Hoi Fai Road in Tai Kok Tsui. Clothes thought to belong to the missing woman were also found, the insider added.
Police suspected foul play in the case on Monday and decided to check a flat inside a building at 152 Castle Peak Road on Tuesday evening.
Checks on surveillance footage in the area had revealed the male suspect leaving the building multiple times while carrying suspicious, heavy-looking bags, but the missing woman was never seen leaving the building after her entry.
The suspect was also caught on surveillance cameras dumping these bags in alleys and multiple rubbish bins in the area. - SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
