Abby Choi got share of ex-husband’s luxury watch profits, murder trial told

Slain Hong Kong socialite Abby Choi Tin-fung received a share of the profits her ex-husband made from investing in luxury watches, the model’s murder trial has heard.

Chan Leong-hang, an employee of Aristo Watch & Jewellery in Tsim Sha Tsui, said on Thursday that Alex Kwong Kong-chi sold upmarket timepieces to the shop and asked that the shop transfer part of the proceeds to Choi via bank transfer.

Chan said the company transferred HK$6 million (US$764,580) to Choi’s bank account after her ex-husband sold a watch to the shop in October 2021. He also recalled Kwong selling a Richard Mille watch worth HK$10.5 million and asking for part of the profit to go to his former partner.

The witness described Kwong as a “smart consumer” who would compare prices at different shops, prompting Chan’s company to negotiate a lower price with him in order to close the deal.

Kwong, 31, his father, Kwong Kau, 68, and elder brother, Anthony Kwong Kong-kit, 35, are standing trial for allegedly murdering the 28-year-old influencer in February 2023, following a bitter family dispute over the proposed sale of a HK$72 million flat in Ho Man Tin.

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

Choi’s mother, Cheung Yin-fa, previously alleged that the Kwong family had been living off her family’s wealth in the lead-up to her daughter’s killing. She also called her former son-in-law a jobless “brute” who lied in court about financially supporting her over the years.

Alex Kwong’s legal counsel, Andrew Raffell, sought to prove that his client had earned substantial sums by reselling watches to high-end customers in mainland China and that he had given part of the profits to his ex-wife.

During cross-examination on Thursday, Chan confirmed that Kwong had introduced “clients” to buy watches from his company on numerous occasions, although he did not realise at the time that the defendant was making a business out of the purchases.

Raffell suggested that Kwong had once introduced friends of his former mother-in-law to buy watches at the shop, but Chan said he had never heard anything like that before.

The defence lawyer also highlighted an incident in around 2020 and 2021 in which Kwong asked the watch company to prepare a cheque using his remaining credit at the shop and give it to his father to settle outstanding management fees for the Kadooria flat.

Chan said he understood the encounter had been an unhappy one, as Kwong Kau allegedly snatched the cheque from the shop’s workers while they were still confirming that he was indeed Alex Kwong’s father.

Choi’s alleged murder came to light after parts of her dismembered remains were discovered at a 600 square feet rental flat on the ground floor of a three-storey house in Tai Po’s Lung Mei village on February 24, 2023.

Hui Yan-yan, the landlady at the time, said Kwong Kau agreed to rent the property for HK$10,000 a month on February 2 and signed the tenancy agreement at the premises three days later.

Asked why he wanted to rent the flat, Kwong allegedly told Hui that he wanted a place to spend time with his wife after retiring.

He also claimed that his son, daughter-in-law and their children were returning from Australia and would be living at his supposed residence in Mong Kok, the court heard.

“He said that because he and his wife were old, they could rent somewhere further away and retire there. He said the environment here was comfortable,” Hui told the court.

She also noted that Kwong Kau had specifically asked whether there were surveillance cameras installed inside the rental flat on the day he signed the agreement.

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