HONG KONG (Agencies): The Hong Kong High Court heard on Tuesday (Nov 3) that the former father-in-law of murdered Hong Kong socialite Abby Choi Tin-fung was captured on surveillance footage purchasing hand saws and a power cutting tool with cash in Sham Shui Po two days after her disappearance, before heading back to the village house where her remains were later uncovered.
The revelation came as the trial entered its twenty-ninth day before Deputy High Court Judge Brian Keith, with prosecutors detailing the post-crime movements of the three male defendants.
Choi’s former husband Alex Kwong Kong-chi, former father-in-law Kwong Kau, and former brother-in-law Anthony Kwong Kong-kit have all pleaded not guilty to murder, while admitting a joint charge of preventing the lawful burial of a body as reported by the Hong Kong Standard.
The charges allege that the trio murdered the 28-year-old model and influencer on February 21, 2023, inside the ground-floor flat of a village house at Lung Mei in Tai Po, and unlawfully prevented her burial over the subsequent three days.
Testifying on Tuesday, former exhibits officer and current police sergeant Ng Tai-shing took the court through extensive closed-circuit television recordings tracking Kwong Kau and his elder son Anthony in the days immediately following the alleged killing.
Footage from the late afternoon of February 22 showed Kwong Kau driving a private car to a restaurant car park in Lung Mei Tsuen, where he dined and made multiple phone calls to family members, including his wife Jenny Li Sui-heung and Anthony Kwong.
He subsequently walked to the exterior of the village house at around 6.36pm but did not enter, instead pacing outside and surveying the premises for several minutes before returning to the eatery.
Later that evening, Kwong Kau returned to the village house accompanied by Anthony Kwong. The pair unloaded several items from the vehicle and brought them into the unit, with the father wheeling a shopping cart. Both men were observed departing the village shortly after 11pm and driving to an estate car park in Tsuen Wan before returning to their residence on foot.
The prosecution presented further recordings from February 23 showing Kwong Kau visiting a hardware and electronics store on Apliu Street in Sham Shui Po just before 3pm, dressed in a khaki long-sleeved shirt and wearing a surgical mask. Store footage showed him spending about ten minutes inside, paying cash for a hand saw, a hacksaw, and a reciprocating saw.
Kwong Kau then transported the tools, packed in a red plastic bag, back to the Lung Mei property, entering the flat shortly after 4pm.
He was observed leaving the village on foot several hours later carrying a black plastic bag after retrieving an item from his vehicle. Additional footage presented to the jury showed Alex Kwong leaving a luxury residential complex in West Kowloon the following afternoon, wearing a cap and face mask.
Prosecutors also highlighted earlier footage from February 11, ten days before the alleged murder, showing Kwong Kau purchasing cleaning materials and large metal soup pots before visiting the village house alongside Anthony Kwong and an unidentified companion whose build closely matched that of Alex Kwong.
The pair subsequently drove to a shopping mall in Kowloon Tong, where both men visited the restroom together before exiting.
Under cross-examination, counsel representing Kwong Kau questioned Sergeant Ng on his familiarity with the geographical area around Ting Kok Road and the Tai Po waterfront, with the officer acknowledging he did not know the exact location of nearby international schools or automated teller machines.
The defense noted that while Ng had meticulously recorded identification numbers and security seals when obtaining oral swab samples from Choi’s mother, he had omitted similar details upon receiving Alex Kwong’s swab from another police officer.
Ng explained that because he had not personally swabbed the suspect, exhaustive recording was not required, firmly denying the defense's suggestion that barcodes were affixed only retroactively after an initial oversight.
The court also recalled senior administrator Hui Siu-hung from Malvern College Hong Kong, where Choi’s daughter was enrolled. In response to defence questioning, Hui explained that the school released primary pupils at staggered intervals and in separate locations depending on their year groups to minimise congestion.
On re-examination by the prosecution, Hui confirmed that Choi’s daughter was found waiting without an escort at 3:15pm on the afternoon of Choi’s disappearance, by which time the vast majority of other pupils had already been collected.
The trial continues before Judge Keith, with the prosecution led by outside Senior Counsel Charlotte Draycott and the defendants represented separately by defence barristers Trevor Beel, Oliver Davies, and Andrew Raffell. -- Agencies
