Abby Choi killed by ex-husband, his brother tells Hong Kong court

Slain Hong Kong socialite Abby Choi Tin-fung was killed by her ex-husband, his elder brother has told a court.

In a tearful confession in the High Court on Wednesday, Anthony Kwong Kong-kit said he knew his younger brother, Alex Kwong Kong-chi, had fatally attacked Choi on February 21, 2023, but stressed that there had been no plan to kill her beforehand that day.

Anthony, 35, is contesting a joint count of murder alongside Alex, 31, and their father, Kwong Kau, 68, who are accused of conspiring to kill the model.

Before the trial began in late September, the brothers admitted preventing the lawful burial of the 28-year-old’s body. Kwong Kau, a retired police sergeant, also pleaded guilty to that charge midway through the trial.

Prosecutors allege the crime stemmed from a family dispute over the proposed sale of a HK$72 million flat at the upscale Kadooria residential complex in Ho Man Tin.

Kwong Kau, the flat’s registered owner, allegedly resented Choi for trying to sell the home, which the influencer had initially bought for her two children with Alex.

The prosecution alleges that the defendants showed significant pre-planning by purchasing a wide range of items between February 4 and 17 in preparation for the murder.

Kwong Kau also allegedly rented a 600 square feet flat in Tai Po’s Lung Mei village to dismantle Choi’s body after her killing. Anthony, however, maintained that the premises were intended as his father’s new residence after Choi evicted him from the Kadooria flat.

Testifying for a third day, Anthony gave a detailed account of the purchases he made in the lead-up to Choi’s alleged murder. He claimed he bought the items at his father’s request as Kwong Kau prepared to renovate his supposed new home.

He said he met his father outside a kitchenware supplier in Yau Ma Tei on February 8, after the elder Kwong bought the meat mincer, a soup pot and other items.

Kwong Kau allegedly told his elder son that he had bought the mincer for a friend, while he intended to keep the pot for himself.

Surveillance footage from a hardware store in Mong Kok showed Anthony comparing different types of cable ties by measuring them against his wrist on the same day.

The court previously heard that a cable tie fell to the ground as the defendants allegedly moved a plastic box containing Choi’s body into the Lung Mei flat on February 21.

Anthony said he had been looking for items that could be used to secure an imaginary fence he claimed his father wanted to erect outside the village flat.

“At the time, I did not have any measuring equipment with me, so I could only use my imagination to think about how wide and thick the fence at the home next to my father’s would be. I believed it would be similar to my wrist. I was not measuring my wrist,” he said.

He added that he also bought two coils of rope, later seized from the crime scene, because they were cheap and could be used to tie things up.

Between February 9 and 15, Anthony also bought an array of deodorisers, a screwdriver, a roll of cling film, rubbish bags, a hammer and three rolls of adhesive tape.

He told the court that he habitually placed air-fresheners around his home and believed they would be useful to his father as well.

He said he bought the cling film on a whim while purchasing the screwdriver.

“It was just like buying tissues in a supermarket and ending up buying a pack of batteries as well,” he added.

The trial continues before Deputy Judge Brian Keith and an eight-member jury.