Court shown CCTV of murder suspects buying meat grinder and saw
On day 27 of the Abby Choi murder trial, the High Court viewed security footage of her former father-in-law and brother-in-law purchasing a commercial meat grinder, electric saw, cable ties, and other tools before her alleged killing and dismemberment in February 2023.
Security camera recordings showing the father and brother of Abby Choi Tin-fung's former husband purchasing a commercial meat grinder, an electric saw, and other tools were presented in the High Court on Friday, as the trial over the 28-year-old socialite's killing and dismemberment entered its 27th day.
Choi was allegedly murdered and dismembered in a ground-floor village house in Lung Mei, Tai Po, in February 2023. Her former husband Alex Kwong Kong-chi, former father-in-law Kwong Kau, and former brother-in-law Anthony Kwong Kong-kit face charges of murder and preventing the lawful burial of a body. While all three defendants have pleaded guilty to preventing the lawful burial of Choi's body between 21 and 23 February 2023, they have pleaded not guilty to her murder on 21 February.
An officer testified that Shanghai Street in Yau Ma Tei was widely known for businesses selling knives and culinary equipment. Recordings from 8 February showed Kwong Kau and Anthony Kwong arriving on Shanghai Street in separate seven-seater vehicles. Kwong Kau was seen buying a heavy-duty meat grinder and metal trays from Tung Ngar Air-Condition & Steel Holdings Ltd., with shop staff assisting him in loading the goods into his vehicle. According to admitted facts, Kwong Kau purchased the meat grinder, a 14-inch soup pot, a 15-inch circular chopping board, and an 11-inch frying strainer for 8,700 Hong Kong dollars. Video footage further showed him repeatedly visiting the Au Lee Cheong Cutlery Co. store nearby and placing several knife-like objects into his vehicle.
Footage played before the court showed Anthony Kwong entering Tai Tak Hardware Supermarket on the same day. He was observed selecting cable ties and testing them repeatedly around his own wrist before browsing ropes. Closed-circuit television audio and video captured Anthony Kwong holding white and brown ropes while asking a store employee whether they were scout ropes. The clerk asked if he intended to tie knots and pointed toward the brown rope, noting that it was typically used for traditional knot-tying. When asked by the clerk whether he was involved in scouting, Anthony Kwong replied that the rope was intended for children to play with. He subsequently purchased five pairs of gloves, cable ties, hemp rope, and nylon rope. Later that evening, Kwong Kau was captured driving a white seven-seater to the Lung Mei Tsuen property.
Subsequent footage from 9 February showed Anthony Kwong visiting a Japan Home Centre branch in Tsuen Wan, where he purchased kitchen shears and aerosol sprays. On 10 February, Kwong Kau was recorded loading a tent and other supplies into his vehicle before driving to Wing Shun Metal in Sham Shui Po. There, he purchased an electric saw and replacement blades packaged inside a cardboard box and wrapped in plastic bags. Kwong Kau was then seen walking through Sham Shui Po, measuring the size of waterproof boots against his foot at an outdoor vendor stall, before returning to his car with multiple plastic bags. The court heard that the box carried from the hardware store closely matched the electric saw packaging later seized by the officer from the Lung Mei crime scene.
The trio is accused of murdering Choi on 21 February 2023, inside the ground floor of village house 56B in Lung Mei, Ting Kok Road, Tai Po, and subsequently preventing the lawful burial of her corpse. The trial is being conducted in English before Deputy High Court Judge Brian Keith.