Abby Choi’s partner tells murder trial she hid ex-in-laws’ financial reliance on her

But Tam said he and Choi had kept up a friendly facade in front of her former in-laws while seeking to sell a HK$72 million home registered in Kwong’s father’s name.

He acknowledged he had been “a bit sneaky”, but said this was unavoidable as the couple tried to recover what belonged to them gradually and through diplomatic means.

Asked whether he still viewed his former classmate in the same way after the dispute, Tam said: “I would say the friendship was no more.”

Kwong, 31, is standing trial on a joint count of murder alongside his father, Kwong Kau, 68, and elder brother, Anthony Kwong Kong-kit, 35.

The elder Kwong, a retired police sergeant, has also denied preventing the lawful burial of Choi’s body. His two sons pleaded guilty to that offence before the trial began last month.

Prosecutors argued that the murder stemmed from a family feud over the proposed sale of a luxury flat at the upmarket Kadooria residential estate in Ho Man Tin.

They said Choi had registered her former father-in-law as the owner to avoid paying HK$9 million in double stamp duty but had never intended to give the property to her former in-laws.

The court heard that Choi had a heated argument with her former mother-in-law, Jenny Li Sui-heung, at the Kadooria flat in June or July 2022, when the influencer’s elder daughter had a fever.

Li allegedly told her son Alex to stay away from the child because she could infect him, prompting Choi to accuse her of favouring sons over daughters.

Kwong Kau allegedly joined the row, twice attempted to attack Choi, swore at her and called her a “birthing machine”.

The elder Kwong was subsequently barred from visiting the flat and seeing his two grandchildren. But the children were allegedly taken to see him and his girlfriend while Choi was attending a fashion event in France during the Chinese New Year holiday in 2023, much to her dismay.

Tam became friends with Alex Kwong in 2008, when they were studying at Concordia International School in Kowloon Tong, the court heard. Tam later continued his studies in Australia, while Kwong moved to Sear Rogers International School, where he met Choi.

Tam appeared surprised when Kwong’s counsel, Andrew Raffell, suggested he had wanted a “romantic and sexual relationship” with his client when they were schoolmates.

“Definitely disagree,” the witness said.

Tam said he first met Choi in late 2013 or early 2014, during a brief holiday visit to Hong Kong to see Kwong, who was then married to her.

He said his relationship with Choi changed after Kwong “totally disappeared” one day in 2015. That year, Kwong began divorce proceedings and absconded from a trial over his alleged involvement in a HK$6.3 million theft case.

Tam and Choi began dating in December 2015 and held a wedding banquet a year later, although they never registered their marriage, the court heard. Their daughter was born in September 2016 and their son three years later.

“After Abby and I were together, I knew through Abby that Kwong Kong-chi was fine with our relationship and sent us his blessing. I also know his relationship with Abby was something in the past,” Tam said.

He added that he and Choi would meet Kwong during leisure trips to mainland China. The three saw one another more often at family gatherings after Kwong returned to Hong Kong in 2022.

Asked whether they had remained close until Choi’s disappearance, Tam said it was reasonable for them to do so because of their children.

He said the Kwong brothers and their mother appeared calm and unconcerned after Choi disappeared on February 21, 2023.

Li allegedly suggested that her former daughter-in-law had been abducted and that they should delay reporting her disappearance to police until the supposed kidnappers made their demands.

Anthony Kwong, who was working as Choi’s stand-in driver at the time, allegedly evaded questions about her whereabouts and pretended to help by driving Tam around to look for her.

Parts of Choi’s dismembered remains were found at a rental flat in Lung Mei village, Tai Po, on February 24.

The trial also shed light on the Tam family’s wealth and financial dealings with Choi and her former in-laws.

Tam’s father, Tam Chak-kwan, founded the popular restaurant chain TamJai Yunnan Mixian and received a share of the proceeds from its HK$1 billion sale to a Japanese company.

In 2019, the family moved into their current 4,000 sq ft home on Begonia Road in Kowloon Tong, which the elder Tam bought for HK$168 million.

He said he had given his previous home, a 1,800 sq ft flat valued at HK$41 million at the Manhattan Hill private estate in Lai Chi Kok, to Choi in 2018. But he had not expected his de facto daughter-in-law to live there, as he wanted to share a home with his grandchildren.

The court heard that the elder Tam gave Choi at least HK$200,000 a month to cover living expenses for her and his son. He also gave her more than HK$80 million in total to invest.

Chris Tam said Choi had made money investing in luxury watches, although he was unsure whether she had done so through her ex-husband.

Choi’s mother, Cheung Yin-fa, accused Alex Kwong of failing to repay any of the more than HK$70 million her daughter had given him to invest. She also called him a “brute” and dismissed his claim that he had supported her financially as “a pack of lies”.

Choi also put money into the Kadooria flat and an egg waffle shop run by Anthony Kwong, but Chris Tam said both had proved poor investments.

The court also heard how Kwong Kau had helped settle a dispute over a HK$5 million gambling debt Chris Tam incurred in Macau in August 2021.

The younger Tam said he had refused to repay the loan because he knew the casino, run by SunCity Group, was about to close following the arrest of its founder and CEO, Alvin Chau Cheok-wa.

Tam’s father said he had approached Kwong Kau for help because he wanted to resolve the dispute.

He said he had transferred HK$5 million to Kwong’s personal bank account in March 2022 and paid him a further HK$450,000 in gratuities for people with triad affiliations who had stopped debt collectors from harassing his family.

The elder Tam said Kwong Kau later asked him for a HK$400,000 loan, saying police had frozen his account. Tam agreed to lend him HK$250,000, which had yet to be repaid.

He added that he had ignored Kwong’s request for help with legal fees after the former officer was remanded in custody in connection with the case.

The trial continues on Tuesday before Deputy Judge Brian Keith and a nine-member jury.