Abby Choi’s ex-brother-in-law tells murder trial he ‘blanked out’ during cover-up

Slain Hong Kong socialite Abby Choi Tin-fung’s former brother-in-law began his defence in the seventh week of the trial over her alleged murder, describing himself as a close friend but claiming he “blanked out” while helping to dispose of her dismembered body and erase evidence of the crime.

In a week of testimony filled with emotions and twists, Anthony Kwong Kong-kit tearfully identified his younger brother as the killer, denied having a motive for murder and admitted fabricating an earlier account that blamed their father.

The 35-year-old, who served as Choi’s stand-in driver, is contesting in the High Court a joint count of murder alongside his brother, Alex Kwong Kong-chi, 31, and their father, Kwong Kau, who turned 69 on Friday.

The brothers pleaded guilty to preventing the lawful burial of the 28-year-old’s body before the trial began in late September. The elder Kwong, a retired police sergeant, admitted the same offence midway through the trial.

Anthony’s testimony has drawn widespread public interest, with more than 300 spectators following proceedings from the public gallery and via a live broadcast elsewhere in the court building. The judiciary began issuing admission tickets on Friday to regulate entry.

One of the nine jurors hearing the high-profile case also stepped down for personal reasons.

Prosecutors allege that Alex killed his ex-wife while Anthony was driving them to Pak Shek Kok to pick up the former couple’s daughter from school on February 21, 2023.

Three days later, police discovered some of Choi’s dismembered remains, including her head and legs, in a 600 square foot flat in Tai Po’s Lung Mei village that Kwong Kau had rented earlier that month.

In the witness box, Anthony, who also goes by the name Damon, challenged the prosecution’s account of a carefully planned murder, portraying the killing as a spontaneous attack by his brother after Choi insulted him.

He gave a detailed account of his purchases before the alleged murder, including storage boxes, cable ties, ropes, a ball-peen hammer, rubbish bags and an array of deodorisers. He claimed they were all intended for renovations at what he said was to be his father’s new home.

He claimed she was strangled during a struggle, although medical findings suggested she had been killed by seven blows to the head with a blunt object.

He said Kwong Kau, responding to his plea for help, instructed the brothers to move Choi’s body into the rented flat, then told them to leave while he cleared up.

Anthony struggled to explain why his father would so readily agree to help dispose of her body. He said he did not call police because he “did not know how to handle it”.

The court heard that Anthony visited the Lung Mei flat three times between the evening of February 21 and the morning of February 23. He maintained that his role there was limited to putting up plastic sheets in a bedroom, cleaning tools and discarding waste at his father’s behest.

He admitted erasing evidence by cleaning the Toyota Alphard seven-seater used to transport Choi’s body to the flat. He also acknowledged discarding her personal belongings along with what he believed were “pork bones” cooked with carrots and radishes.

Anthony also conceded that he had misled Choi’s family and police about her whereabouts, claiming he had dropped her off near a shopping centre in Tai Po on February 21.

He said he had suppressed his feelings about his former sister-in-law’s death until he broke down at the police station after learning that her remains had been found.

“I was deceiving myself that this incident had never happened. It was only when police told me they had found her body inside the village flat that I came back to my senses and realised this incident really did happen,” he said.

Asked why he had followed his father’s instructions without question, he said: “At that moment I did not think much; I could not think of anything … I was very shocked. I blanked out.”

Anthony described himself as a father figure to Choi’s two children with Alex after his younger brother fled to the mainland Chinese province of Hainan by speedboat in June 2015 to evade a theft trial.

He said he had then treated Choi like a biological sibling and developed a close relationship with her and her new partner, Chris Tam Fong-chun. He added that he would eat out with them five days a week and regularly attend gatherings with the couple and their friends.

Anthony maintained that his unique position between Choi’s family and her former in-laws had allowed him to remain on friendly terms with her after a bitter argument over parenting in June 2022 drove a growing wedge between the households.

Prosecutors contend that the murder stemmed from a family feud over the proposed sale of a HK$72 million (US$9.2 million) flat at the upmarket Kadooria residential complex in Ho Man Tin.

They said Kwong Kau resented Choi’s efforts to sell the home, which she had originally registered in his name to avoid paying HK$9 million in double stamp duty.

But Anthony said his father had never complained about the proposed sale. He attributed the elder Kwong’s excessive reaction during his clash with Choi in June 2022 to her perceived disrespect towards his wife, rather than a dispute over ownership of the luxury home.

He agreed with his father’s lawyer, Oliver Davies, that the former Kowloon West regional crime squad officer was an ordinary, down-to-earth man who led a simple life.

Anthony’s testimony also shed light on his brother’s complicated relationship with Choi after the couple filed for divorce in 2015.

He said Alex had found refuge in Hainan after Choi’s mother, Cheung Yin-fa, arranged for him to be picked up and provided him with accommodation. Choi allegedly remained in regular contact with Alex despite knowing he was wanted by police.

While on the mainland, Alex invested in property projects and regularly sent some of his profits to Choi through a money exchange shop, the court heard.

Anthony claimed that his brother and Choi had remained romantically involved despite their divorce and had continued to support their children financially until 2023.

He also maintained that Alex had returned to Hong Kong in June 2022 because Choi was jealous of his relationship with a wealthy girlfriend on the mainland.

Alex’s lawyer, Andrew Raffell, suggested that Choi had entered a relationship with Tam only for his money. Anthony said he was unsure whether that was the case.

Raffell challenged Anthony’s credibility by referring to a four-page handwritten letter he had sent to his younger brother through another prisoner last year, while both were detained at Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre.

In the letter, Anthony identified Kwong Kau, who is being held at Stanley Prison, as the killer. He suggested that his father had killed Choi during a “showdown” after she asked to meet him at a car park in Tai Mei Tuk, Tai Po.

Anthony told the court that he and his brother had spent two years fabricating the account in the hope of clearing themselves.

“After multiple exchanges with my younger brother, we cooked up this story with our shrewdness. We thought it was very good,” he said, adding that he decided to tell the “truth” in court after his legal team told him the story was “very stupid”.

Anthony initially insisted that most of the letter’s claims were entirely false. He later changed his evidence, saying they were partly true insofar as they did not contradict his testimony in court.

Raffell is expected to continue his cross-examination on Monday, when he will ask Anthony to explain the contents of another letter he allegedly sent to Alex earlier this month.