100 cops search landfill site for murdered Hong Kong model’s missing hands and torso after her head and legs were discovered in a fridge and soup pot
- Abby Choi was found dead in the Hong Kong village of Lung Mei Tsuen on Friday
- Ex-husband Alex Kwong, his father Kwong Kau and his brother Anthony Kwong were charged with murdering the model
More than 100 police officers began searching a landfill site on Tuesday for Hong Kong model Abby Choi’s missing hands and torso.
Hong Kong police started to comb the site for evidence related to the grisly killing after her legs were found in a refrigerator while her skull and a number of her ribs were discovered in a cooking pot.
Ex-husband Alex Kwong, his father Kwong Kau and his brother Anthony Kwong were charged with murder after police found her remains in a house rented by Kwong Kau in a suburban part of Hong Kong near the border with mainland China.
Alex Kwong’s mother, Jenny Li, faces one count of perverting the course of justice. All four were detained without bail.
They have not yet entered their pleas, and it does not appear that their lawyers have commented on the case to the media. The hearing was adjourned until May.
Police officers comb through garbage, searching for the remains of murdered model and influencer Abby Choi in a landfill site in Hong Kong on February 28, 2023
Pictured: Abby Choi. Hong Kong police began searching the site on Tuesday for evidence related to the grisly killing after her legs found in a refrigerator while her skull and a number of her ribs were discovered in a cooking pot
On Tuesday morning, more than 100 police officers wearing protective gear went to North East New Territories Landfill in Ta Kwu Ling, about a 15-minute drive from mainland China, to search for the missing body parts with excavators and shovels.
‘The suspects threw away several bags of important evidence in the morning of Feb. 22. They may be some human body parts or they could be the clothes and the phone of the victim, or even the weapons,’ Superintendent Alan Chung told reporters.
Mr Chung said they could not find anything substantial yet, other than bones, which police could not ascertain if they belonged to a human or animals.
Ms Choi’s family, dressed in black, gathered near the house where her body parts were found to pay respects. They earlier visited a mortuary to identify her.
Alex Kwong appeared in another court Tuesday for a previous theft case, where he jumped bail.
Another woman who had been arrested for allegedly assisting other suspects in the case was released on bail pending further investigation, police said. She was believed to have been in an affair with the ex-husband’s father, the force said earlier.
Ms Choi, who had more than 100,000 followers on Instagram, disappeared on February 21, according to a report filed later with the Hong Kong Police.
Her last post was on February 19, featuring a photo shoot she had done with fashion magazine L’Officiel Monaco.
Ms Choi had financial disputes involving tens of millions of Hong Kong dollars (millions of pounds) with her ex-husband and his family, police said, adding that ‘some people’ were unhappy with how Ms Choi handled her finances.
The gruesome killing has transfixed many in Hong Kong and across the border in mainland China, since the semiautonomous southern Chinese city has a very low level of violent crime.
Ms Choi’s friend Bernard Cheng earlier said he initially thought she had been kidnapped.
‘I haven’t imagined a person who’s so good, so full of love, so innocent, a person who doesn’t do anything bad will be killed like this,’ he said. ‘My heart is still heavy. I can’t sleep well.’
Mr Cheng said Ms Choi had four children, aged between 3 and 10.
Alex Kwong, 28, was the father of the older two, who are being taken care of by Ms Choi’s mother. Ms Choi had remarried to Chris Tam, father of the younger children, who are staying with his family.
Ms Choi had good relationships with her family, including her in-laws, Mr Cheng said, and would travel with the families of her current and former husbands together.
While violent crime is rare in Hong Kong, the case recalls a handful of other shocking killings. In 2013, a man killed his parents and their heads were later found in refrigerators. In another infamous 1999 case, a woman was kidnapped and tortured by three members of an organized crime group before her death. Her skull was later found stuffed in a Hello Kitty doll.
Alex Kwong and in-laws of a Hong Kong model and influencer appeared in court yesterday charged with her gruesome murder.
Pictures on Sunday evening showed one of the male suspects being led to court by police with a black bag over his head. The four were placed in custody without bail.
Ms Choi, 28, was a model and influencer who shared her glamorous life of photoshoots and fashion shows. She had just attended a Dior show at Paris Fashion Week, and posted an image of herself dressed in a tulle floor-length gown.
Ex-husband Alex Kwong (pictured), his father Kwong Kau and his brother Anthony Kwong were charged with murder after police found her remains in a house rented by Kwong Kau in a suburban part of Hong Kong near the border with mainland China
Ms Choi’s ex-husband Alex Kwong, his father Kwong Kau and his brother Anthony Kwong were charged with murdering the model. Alex Kwong’s mother Jenny Li faces one count of perverting the course of justice. Pictured: One of the suspects is seen being led by police officers to court late on Sunday
Her friend, Bernard Cheng, said she has four children: two sons aged ten and three and two daughters ages eight and six. The elder two were with Kwong, 28, and the younger children were with her current husband, Chris Tam.
Mr Tam said he was very thankful to have had Ms Choi in his life and praised her for being supportive, friend Pao Jo-yee said in a Facebook post.
‘When Abby was alive, she’s a very kind person and always wanted to help people,’ he was quoted in the post. ‘I feel anyone who could be her family and friends are blessed.’
Ms Pao, who is married to Mr Cheng, told the Associated Press that she has known Ms Choi for over seven years and she treated people around her well.
‘She is that type of person that wouldn’t have enemies,’ she said.
Mr Cheng said Ms Choi had very good relationships with her family members and would travel with the families of her current and former husbands together.
Ms Choi’s current father-in-law is a founder of one of the city’s famous noodle chains, local newspaper The Standard reported.
Ms Choi, 28, was a model and influencer who shared her glamorous life of photoshoots and fashion shows with more than 100,000 followers on Instagram. Dressed in a tulle floor-length gown, she had just attended a Dior show at Paris Fashion Week (pictured). She was killed and dismembered, with her legs found in a refrigerator while her skull and a number of her ribs were discovered in a cooking pot
Ms Choi had been missing for several days when police found her dismembered body, including her legs in a refrigerator, at the house in Lung Mei Tsuen, a suburban part of Hong Kong about a 30-minute drive from the border with mainland China.
On Sunday, authorities discovered a young woman’s skull believed to be Ms Choi’s in one of the cooking pots that was seized. Officials believe that a hole on the right rear of the skull is where she was struck in a fatal attack.
Following an extensive search, Ms Choi’s former partner, 31, was arrested on suspicion of murder on Saturday, according to the South China Morning Post.
He was found on Tung Chung pier on Lantau Island, preparing to board a speedboat. Her former husband had HK$500,000 (£50,000) in cash and several luxury watches worth HK$4 million (£400,000) in total with him when he was arrested, sources claim.
On Saturday, Superintendent Alan Chung said the dismemberment was carried out by ‘cold-blooded killers’.
‘Police also have found that the flat was arranged by cold-blooded killers meticulously,’ he said. ‘Tools that are used to dismember human bodies were found in the flat, including meat grinders, chainsaws, long raincoats, gloves, and masks.’
Her case is one of the most shocking, violent killings Hong Kong has seen since 2013, when a man killed his parents and their heads were later found in refrigerators.
The legs of Abby Choi were found by police officers in a household fridge on Friday after she went missing. Her ex-husband and three of his relatives have been charged
Ms Choi had been missing for several days when police found her dismembered body, including her legs in a refrigerator, at the house in Lung Mei Tsuen, a suburban part of Hong Kong about a 30-minute drive from the border with mainland China
In another famous 1999 case, a woman was kidnapped and tortured by three members from an organised crime group before her death.
Her skull was later found stuffed in a Hello Kitty doll.
The gruesome killing of Ms Choi has gripped many in Hong Kong as the southern Chinese city is widely considered safe with a very low level of violent crime.
Across the border in mainland China, online discussions about the case went viral on social media. The murder hearing was adjourned until May.