No victim DNA found on hammer in Abby Choi murder trial, court told
A Hong Kong court heard on Thursday that forensic testing found no trace of victim Abby Choi Tin-fung's DNA on a round-headed hammer seized from the scene of her alleged murder and dismemberment. The revelation came in agreed facts submitted on the 26th day of the trial of her ex-husband and two oth
A Hong Kong court heard on Thursday that forensic testing found no trace of victim Abby Choi Tin-fung's DNA on a round-headed hammer seized from the scene of her alleged murder and dismemberment. The revelation came in agreed facts submitted on the 26th day of the trial of her ex-husband, Alex Kwong Kong-chi, her former father-in-law, Kwong Kau, and her former brother-in-law, Anthony Kwong Kong-kit. All three stand accused of murder and preventing the lawful burial of her body.
According to the agreed facts, bodily fluid and DNA samples, along with fingerprint and palm print impressions from the three defendants, the victim and members of her family, were collected by authorities without unlawful tampering and forwarded to the Government Laboratory for analysis and cross-matching, with the sole exception of Alex Kwong's oral swab. Subsequent forensic examinations of the round-headed hammer seized from the crime scene revealed no detectable traces of Choi's DNA.
Testifying for the prosecution, Dr. Wun Hau-ling, a chemist from the DNA Database and Paternity Testing Section of the Government Laboratory, stated that she had compiled four separate forensic reports for the investigation, including DNA profiling tests conducted on oral swabs taken from the three defendants. Dr. Wun explained that her test results were subsequently handed over to Senior Chemist Dr. Wai Wing-kong to facilitate comparative analysis against physical evidence recovered from the Tai Po residence.
Addressing the chain of custody, Dr. Wun told the court that she received intact, sealed oral swab samples from a detective police constable on 1 March 2023. She confirmed that the packages had been properly preserved and showed no signs of tampering. After verifying that the barcode information on the packaging corresponded accurately with official records, she assigned and affixed laboratory identification labels to the specimens. The trial was adjourned until Wednesday for continued proceedings.
The trio face charges stemming from the February 2023 killing of Choi, whose remains were discovered inside a ground-floor village house at Lung Mei on Ting Kok Road in Tai Po. Prosecutors allege that the three men murdered Choi at the property on 21 February 2023 and prevented the lawful burial of her body between 21 February and 23 February of that year. All three defendants have pleaded not guilty to the murder charge. Anthony Kwong and Alex Kwong have admitted to the charge of preventing a lawful burial, whereas Kwong Kau maintains his innocence on both counts.