In-law’s anger over HK$72 million flat sale drove murder of Abby Choi, court hears

Hong Kong socialite Abby Choi Tin-fung’s former father-in-law enlisted his two sons to help him murder the 28-year-old and dispose of her dismembered body after he became “extremely resentful and angry” over her insistence on selling a HK$72 million (US$9.2 million) flat where he was living, a court has heard.

The prosecution on Wednesday began delivering its opening statements in what is expected to be an eight-week High Court trial over the influencer’s murder and the illegal disposal of her body in a Tai Po village house in February 2023.

Choi’s ex-husband, Alex Kwong Kong-chi, 31, and his elder brother Anthony Kwong Kong-kit, 35, pleaded guilty to preventing the lawful burial of Choi’s body between February 21 and 23.

Their father, retired police sergeant Kwong Kau, 68, pleaded not guilty to the same offence. All three defendants deny murdering Choi.

Prosecutor on fiat Charlotte Draycott SC said a rift between Choi and her former in-laws’ family began to grow after she tried to sell a luxury flat at the Kadooria residential estate in Ho Man Tin in 2022.

According to the prosecution, Choi, despite paying for most of the flat in 2019, decided to register Kwong Kau as its legal owner so that she could avoid significant stamp duty.

Draycott said Kwong Kau had initially refused to sign a power of attorney to allow Choi to negotiate with property agents. On one occasion, the accused reportedly lost his temper and “lunged at” the socialite hoping to hit her before he was restrained by others present.

In private audio messages she sent to her mother, Choi spoke of her former in-laws in “very unpleasant” terms, calling Kwong Kau a “crook” and his wife a “ghost”.

In one message, which appeared to reference Kwong’s wife, the influencer said: “A huge amount of money was spent on that flat, and it was spent for them. To be honest, for the sake of my children, for the sake of my two children and my good heart, that’s why she can lead such a good life, right?”

She added: “I divorced his son so many years ago, and I am still helping her son and providing for his children. Yet this kind of person is ungrateful. If she is not a ghost, what is she?”

Draycott alleged that the family feud reached a critical point in 2023 when Kwong Kau decided that the only way to keep the flat for himself was to kill Choi.

The prosecution’s opening statement continues on Friday.

The trial began after the court swore in a new panel of nine jurors, comprising eight men and one woman. That jury was discharged on Monday after one member asked to withdraw for health reasons.

Multiple juror candidates who appeared in court for selection on Wednesday were exempted after saying they were not mentally strong enough to process what are expected to be upsetting details of the murder.

Deputy Judge Brian Keith also discharged several candidates who claimed their English was not proficient enough to handle the case but said they could be required to undergo tests to prove their claims.