HONG KONG (Agencies): The former father-in-law of slain Hong Kong socialite Abby Choi Tin-fung brought a second-hand refrigerator and a baby bathtub to the village house in Tai Po, the High Court heard on Monday.
On the 28th day of the trial over the murder and dismemberment of the 28-year-old in February 2023, an exhibit officer surnamed Ng continued giving evidence. Security camera footage was played in court showing defendants Kwong Kau and his elder son, Anthony Kwong Kong-kit, purchasing items and bringing materials to the Lung Mei Tsuen flat.
On February 15, 2023, Anthony Kwong went to a hardware shop in Kowloon City wearing a face mask. He bought a round-headed hammer, two rolls of black duct tape and a roll of double-sided tape. Footage showed him making circular and hammering gestures to the shop assistant.
At about 5pm that day, Anthony Kwong’s car was seen outside the flat.
On February 17 at around noon, Kwong Kau, dressed in black and wearing a black face mask, went to a second-hand appliance shop on Yee Kuk Street in Sham Shui Po and bought a silver refrigerator. Shop staff helped load it into his car.
Footage also showed a transparent plastic box containing blue-and-white striped items in the car’s trunk.
Between February 18 and 20, Anthony Kwong first brought a baby bathtub to the family’s residence at Sheung Man Court. On the morning of February 20, Kwong Kau was seen bringing the baby bathtub along with him before driving to the Tai Po flat.
The jury also examined a piece of plastic wrap in court. Prosecutors said Choi’s DNA had been detected on it, and the item was passed among jurors for inspection.
Meanwhile, SCMP had reported that the slain Hong Kong socialite remains were stored in two soup pots and a refrigerator after her body was dismembered with an electric saw in a rural village flat, a court has heard.
The High Court trial took a turn towards the end of its fifth week when Choi’s former father-in-law, Kwong Kau, changed his plea to guilty on a charge of illegally disposing of her body. His admission came after the court heard how some of the 28-year-old’s remains were found in Lung Mei village in Tai Po on February 24, 2023.
Kwong, a 68-year-old retired police officer, remains on trial for murder alongside his two sons, Anthony Kwong Kong-kit, 35, and Choi’s ex-husband, Alex Kwong Kong-chi, 31. Both sons pleaded guilty to preventing Choi’s burial before the trial began in late September.
Kwong Kau, his two sons Anthony Kwong and Choi’s ex-husband, Alex Kwong Kong-chi, are jointly charged with Choi’s murder. All three have pleaded not guilty to that charge.
Anthony Kwong and Alex Kwong pleaded guilty to preventing the lawful burial of Choi’s body before the trial began. Kwong Kau changed his plea to guilty on that charge last week. -- Agencies
