A fortune, a HK$72m flat and a family feud: inside the Abby Choi murder trial

A bitter family dispute over the proposed sale of a HK$72 million flat allegedly led a retired police officer and his two sons to murder socialite Abby Choi Tin-fung three years ago, a Hong Kong court has heard.

The trial over the 28-year-old model’s killing, which shocked Hong Kong and attracted international attention, started after a one-week delay caused by unresolved preliminary issues and jury selection.

Choi’s mother, Cheung Yin-fa, told the High Court how her relationship with her daughter’s former in-laws deteriorated, accusing them of clinging to her family’s fortune and having “bitten the hand that fed them”.

Giving evidence for the prosecution, Cheung became emotional at times as she accused Choi’s former in-laws of living in luxury without contributing to the upbringing of the two children her daughter had with her ex-husband.