Ex-father-in-law failed to repay HK$250,000 loan, Abby Choi murder trial hears

The former father-in-law of slain Hong Kong socialite Abby Choi Tin-fung failed to repay a HK$250,000 loan from her partner’s father and asked for help in hiring lawyers after he was remanded in custody for allegedly killing the model three years ago, a court has heard.

Tam Chak-kwan, founder of the popular restaurant chain TamJai Yunnan Mixian, testified in the High Court on Friday about his interactions with Kwong Kau in the year leading to the latter’s arrest for his suspected role in Choi’s murder in February 2023.

Kwong, 68, allegedly enlisted his two sons to help kill the 28-year-old influencer after she tried to sell a HK$72 million (US$9.17 million) flat at the upmarket Kadooria residential complex in Ho Man Tin that was registered in his name.

He is standing trial alongside his sons Anthony Kwong Kong-kit, 35, and Alex Kwong Kong-chi, 31, Choi’s ex-husband.

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

The court heard Tam’s family wealth increased significantly after he received part of the profits from selling his business to a Japanese company for HK$1 billion.

He told the court it was “a little bit of an achievement”, but Deputy Judge Brian Keith said he did not have to be unduly modest.

The former restaurant owner said his son, Chris Tam Fong-chun, had a very happy relationship with Choi even though they never registered their marriage. He and his wife, Yau Mei-fung, never took issue with the model being a divorcee with two children from her first marriage to Alex Kwong, the court heard.

He said he gave Choi a HK$41 million flat at the Manhattan Hill private estate in Lai Chi Kok, where he used to live, and more than HK$80 million for investments. The court was told that he and his wife also bought her luxury gifts including handbags and jewellery.

Asked why he allowed his de facto daughter-in-law to handle finances, the elder Tam said Choi was more mature and organised than his son, whom he said was not serious about work when he was young. He added that the socialite was able to handle money well and make good investment decisions.

Wrapping up his testimony on Friday, Chris Tam said his father spent about HK$6 million to help him settle a HK$5 million gambling debt he incurred when he visited Macau with Choi and Anthony Kwong in August 2021.

The younger Tam said he believed the additional payments were gratuities, colloquially known as “tea money”, given to people with triad affiliations for stopping debt collectors from continuing to harass his family.

The elder Tam said he was approached by five “fierce” men on a day in early 2022, telling him Choi owed HK$5 million because of his son.

The elder Tam said he was shocked to later confirm with his son that he had borrowed money to gamble in Macau. He then approached Kwong Kau, who advised him to report the matter to police, the court heard.

The witness said that as he was frustrated by the progress of the police investigation, he asked Kwong Kau for help again.

Kwong Kau allegedly said he could resolve the matter through “people in the underworld”, but Tam insisted the matter should be settled using a law firm.

The elder Tam said he transferred HK$5 million into Kwong Kau’s personal bank account and gave him HK$450,000 as “tea money”. He also paid about HK$60,000 to the law firm handling the paperwork for the repayment, the court heard.

According to the elder Tam, Kwong Kau sought a HK$400,000 loan from him in December 2022, saying his bank account had been frozen by the commercial crime bureau because officers deemed the HK$5 million transfer suspicious.

Tam said he only gave his counterpart HK$250,000.

“Abby told me this person was not trustworthy, but because he had helped me settle this matter, I decided to help him,” the witness said, referring to the harassment by debt collectors.

The elder Tam said Kwong Kau never repaid him, but he had no intention of chasing the money because he did not think the retiree would pay it back.

Kwong Kau’s legal counsel, Oliver Davies, suggested that the elder Tam offered to lend his client money after the ex-sergeant said he was concerned that authorities would freeze his bank account.

“Ridiculous,” the witness replied.

The elder Tam said that after Choi’s killing came to light in February 2023, a law firm clerk sent him a photo of what appeared to be a handwritten letter from Kwong Kau, who asked him to hire lawyers on his behalf because he had been denied bail.

The defendant allegedly called himself a man with integrity, while describing the elder Tam as a “very good friend”, as he explained he was in a difficult situation because he had no money to hire legal representation.

“At that time I had a friend who was a lawyer and I consulted that person. I was advised to ignore him and that’s what I did,” the witness said.