HONG KONG (Agencies): The former father-in-law of slain Hong Kong socialite Abby Choi Tin-fung has made a U-turn midway through his and his sons’ murder trial, pleading guilty to the illegal disposal of her body.
As the High Court trial entered its fifth week before a nine-member jury, Kwong Kau made a stunning reversal on Friday and admitted to the charge he had initially denied, reports South China Morning Post.
The 68-year-old retired police sergeant stands accused of murdering his former daughter-in-law on February 21, 2023, and preventing the lawful burial of the 28-year-old’s body by dismembering her remains at a rental flat in Tai Po’s Lung Mei village.
Kwong’s sons, Anthony Kwong Kong-kit, 35, and Choi’s ex-husband, Alex Kwong Kong-chi, 31, pleaded guilty to preventing the lawful burial of Choi’s body before the trial began last month. They are standing trial for the murder charge.
Meanwhile, The Standard of Hong Kong reported that Kwong Kau, responded "guilty" as the charge was read aloud in court. His decision follows similar guilty pleas on the same charge entered before the trial began by his two sons, Alex Kwong Kong-chi and Anthony Kwong Kong-kit. All three men continue to deny the charge of murder.
The trio—Alex Kwong, 30, Anthony Kwong, 33, and Kwong Kau—are jointly charged with one count of murder and one count of preventing the lawful burial of a body.
The prosecution alleges that the defendants murdered 28-year-old Abby Choi on February 21, 2023, inside the ground-floor unit of a village house at 56B Lung Mei Village on Ting Kok Road in Tai Po. They are also accused of attempting to prevent the lawful burial of her remains between February 21 and February 23, 2023, at the same location.
The trial is conducted in English before Deputy High Court Judge Brian Keith. Senior Counsel Charlotte Draycott, Senior Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Gary Leung Yuk-hang, Senior Prosecutors Human Lam Hiu-man and Gabriel Ng Hay-lok, and Prosecutor Herman Wan Pui-hin represent the prosecution.
Defence counsel includes barrister Trevor Beel representing Anthony Kwong, barrister Oliver Davies representing Kwong Kau, and barrister Andrew Raffell representing Alex Kwong. -- Agencies
