Murder of Abby Choi

Choi debuted as an influencer. Although Choi had over 10,000 followers on her Instagram account for several years, her notability in Hong Kong was modest as of July 2022, and she was known in the media for being a friend of Moka Fang--the wife of Hong Kong actor Aaron Kwok. She regularly attended the Paris Fashion Week and had allegedly been photographed in several magazines including Elle, Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue. Choi had more than 100,000 followers on Instagram. Less than two weeks before her death, Choi was featured on the cover of fashion and luxury lifestyle magazine L’Officiel Monaco; also in that issue is an article praising her as a fashion icon who could mix and match pieces in ways that made her a trendsetter. Choi was born in an ordinary family. Some time after her birth, her mother Cheung Yin-fa (張燕花) divorced her biological father and married Tsoi Cho-san (蔡楚生), with whom she had two daughters. Cheung and Tsoi later made a fortune by operating construction and mining businesses in mainland China. Some estimated Choi's personal net worth at the time of her death to be over HK$100 million. Choi also engaged in philanthropy by co-founding Paomes Charitable Organisation, a group dedicated to helping stray animals. Choi married Alex Kwong when she was 18 years old and had two children during their three-year-long marriage which ended in divorce. Later, Choi formed a new family with Chris Tam Fong-Chun (譚方駿), whose wealthy father, Tam Chuk-kwan (譚澤均), was quite well-known as one of the founders of the restaurant chain Tamjai Yunnan Mixian (譚仔雲南米線). Tam and Choi, who held a wedding ceremony in 2016 but never legally married, had two children together. Choi maintained a close relationship with ex-husband Kwong and his kin despite the divorce. ==Disappearance and discovery of Choi's remains==

She was reported missing after she failed to pick up her daughter from school as usual. She was last seen entering the car driven by her hired driver, who is also her ex-brother-in-law. On 24 February 2023, three days after her disappearance, the headless corpse of 28-year-old Choi was discovered at a Tai Po village house in Hong Kong. Reportedly, some of her body parts were hidden inside a refrigerator and some of them were cooked. Her skull and some of her ribs were found in a pot. The police, therefore, classified the case as murder. A meat slicer and electric saw were also found at the scene, according to police statements to the press. ==Investigations==

After the murder of Choi came to light, the police first arrested three suspects on 25 February 2023. One of them was Choi's former brother-in-law Anthony Kwong Kong-kit (鄺港傑), who was her hired driver, while the other two were the first suspect's parents, who both used to be Choi's parents-in-law before she divorced her first husband Alex Kwong Kong-chi (鄺港智). After a citywide manhunt by police, Alex Kwong became the fourth to be arrested after he unsuccessfully tried to escape Hong Kong by sea. It was alleged that the death of Choi was masterminded by her former father-in-law Kwong Kau (鄺球), a former policeman who was previously accused of rape. The motive was believed to be a monetary dispute, and a luxury apartment believed to be bought by Choi and then put under her former father-in-law's name. The luxury apartment is located in Kadoorie Hill in Kowloon Tong, one of Hong Kong’s most prestigious addresses, and the neighbourhood is home to some of the city’s wealthiest people. On 26 February 2023, the police found Choi's severed head and several of her ribs inside a pot of cooked soup. At the same time, the police arrested a fifth suspect in connection to the killing, a 47-year-old Ng Chi Wing (伍志榮), a mistress of Kwong Kau. She was said to have helped hide Alex Kwong before his apparent attempt to flee Hong Kong. The search for the missing hands and torso and other body parts remained ongoing. More than a hundred officers were mobilized to search for the other missing body parts. The police searched through the North East New Territories Landfill in Ta Kwu Ling for the missing hands and torso. They also questioned the villagers. DNA testing results revealed in March 2023 that the recovered head belonged to Choi. On 27 February 2023, the police proceeded with murder charges against Alex Kwong, his brother and father, while charging Alex Kwong's mother with perverting the course of justice. All four suspects, who were officially charged in court, were denied bail and were held in remand pending investigations. Their cases were adjourned to 8 May 2023. Ng was charged with abetting a murder suspect, and she was released on bail. It also came to light that Alex Kwong was a suspect behind seven alleged cases of theft that occurred for nearly a decade before Choi was killed, and had once absconded despite being scheduled to appear in court in 2015. Kwong was charged in court for these cases as well. On 2 March 2023, a sixth suspect, 41-year-old Lam Shun (林舜), was arrested on suspicion of aiding and abetting Kwong's attempted escape for a payment of HK$300,000. Lam was an employee of a yacht rental company. Lam, who was charged on 6 March, was granted bail. A seventh suspect named Irene Pun Hau-yin (潘巧賢), a 29-year-old Hong Konger and friend of Alex Kwong, was also arrested in Shenzhen, China on 7 March for abetting Kwong in his attempted escape from Hong Kong, and she was handed over to the Hong Kong authorities. Pun was charged on 8 March, and later granted bail of HK$50,000, but she was given a travel ban to prevent her from leaving Hong Kong. According to the laws of Hong Kong, a conviction for murder carries the mandatory sentence of life imprisonment. Originally, the death penalty was the sole legal punishment for murder in Hong Kong before it was fully abolished in 1993. In another development of the case, Choi's mother filed a court injunction to forbid Kwong Kau from selling the property linked to her daughter's murder and to seek a declaration that her daughter was the beneficial owner of that apartment. A pre-trial conference was held on 8 May 2023, when six of the seven suspects behind Choi's murder appeared in court. The prosecution revealed that bloodstains matching to the DNA of Choi were found inside the car of her former brother-in-law, and over 30 exhibits seized by the police, including knives, chainsaws and hammers from the village, would be sent for DNA processing. In December 2023, Choi’s ex-husband and two of her former in-laws were additionally charged with preventing Choi's burial. In April 2024, Lam and Pun were jointly charged with perverting the course of justice by conspiring to assist Alex Kwong to escape Hong Kong. ==Suspects==

• Alex Kwong Kong-chi (鄺港智), 28, Choi's former husband – charged with murder 31, Alex Kwong's brother and Choi's former brother-in-law – charged with murder • Kwong Kau (鄺球), • Henry Lam Shun (林舜), • Irene Pun Hau-yin (潘巧賢), 29, Alex Kwong's friend – charged with abetting a murder suspect ==Legal proceedings==

While he was still awaiting trial for murdering his ex-wife, Abby Choi's ex-husband Alex Kwong was sentenced to years' imprisonment for six unrelated charges of theft and jumping bail, all of which he pleaded guilty to. ==Responses==

The case of Choi's killing shocked the community of Hong Kong, as well as making headlines internationally. The high-profile nature of the crime also brought attention to several notorious pastmurder cases, including serial killer Lam Kor-wan (whose original death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment), the Braemar Hill murders of 1985 (in which five youths were convicted of killing the two victims, with two being imprisoned indefinitely and three serving life sentences) and the Hello Kitty murder case of 1999 (where three persons were sentenced to imprisonment terms of between 18 years and life). Hong Kong actor Aaron Kwok and his wife Moka Fang were reportedly devastated over the death of Choi, who was close friends with the couple, and they offered condolences, describing her as a good friend. Choi's current husband, with whom she had two children, remembered her as a wife and mother who was often attentive and caring for her family, and stated he would take care of the children, including his two step-children. Choi's father-in-law also regarded her as a daughter who was not his own but whom he doted on. Similarly, Choi's mother also made tributes to her eldest daughter and talked about the good memories she shared with her daughter, whom she described as filial. Thousands of fans and netizens worldwide offered condolences for the victim, with some netizens from mainland China suggesting that the perpetrators deserved the death penalty for murdering Choi, and were disappointed at the fact that it was not applicable in Hong Kong despite its usage in mainland China for severe crimes. The school that Choi's children attended offered counseling sessions to her children and any other students affected by the horrific nature of the crime. The ritual to pay respects to Choi was held on 11 March 2023. Choi's funeral was conducted on 18 June 2023. The community at Tai Po's Lung Mei Village, where most of Choi's dismembered body parts were recovered, also made plans to perform Taoist rituals to "calm the spirit" of the deceased, due to the horrific and tragic nature of her death. Choi's family members and friends gathered outside the crime scene to show respects. The police also gave a press conference, assuring the public that they would put in efforts to ensure that justice is fulfilled to the fullest for the victim and her family. They also stated that with the help of GPS records and CCTV footage, they were able to solve the case. ==See also==