Abby Choi's ‘face to be recreated using 3D printing technology’ to allow grieving family a chance to mourn

HONG KONG — Murdered Hong Kong model Abby Choi Tin-fung is expected to have her face recreated using 3D printing technology to allow grieving relatives a chance to mourn and give her a proper funeral after she was dismembered in the gruesome killing in February, the Post has learned.

The funeral is being arranged after Choi’s family collected the slain 28-year-old social media influencer’s remains last month, in a case that shocked Hong Kong and the world.

The grisly murder came to light on Feb 24, when police found Choi’s skull, legs and some broken ribs in the ground-floor flat of a three-storey village house in Tai Po’s Lung Mei Tsuen.

The vigil is set to take place at Po Fook Memorial Hall in the Tai Wai area of Sha Tin district on June 18. Her family is expected to book the entire funeral parlour for the service.

It will be followed by a funeral ceremony the next morning before the remains are taken to a monastery on Lantau Island for cremation.

A source familiar with the arrangements said Choi’s family planned to hire an overseas hi-tech firm to use three-dimensional printing and a make-up service to recreate a face for the skull to allow a respectful viewing of the remains for mourners at the funeral if needed.

A massive search for her body parts at a New Territories landfill and a Tseung Kwan O cemetery drew a blank, with police recovering only those found in the village flat.

After completing all examinations including a DNA test, the remains were given back to her family late last month.

Some funeral homes in mainland China have used 3D printing to restore the face of the disfigured deceased.

They scan photos of the deceased provided by family members to build a 3D model, usually within two hours. A 3D facial mask is then made within a day using resin, plaster, silicone and fibre before undertakers apply make-up and a wig.

It is unclear whether Choi’s family have opted for this type of mask.

Ms Peggy Yuen, CEO of MakeOmnia, a 3D printing solutions firm in Hong Kong, said the technology could be used to produce human body parts but only a few companies in the city were capable of bioprinting.

“Many cases of bioprinting [in Hong Kong] are for medical purposes in universities or hospitals, such as producing human cells or a prosthesis with the original cells. There are not many firms in Hong Kong that can do bioprinting,” she said.

Choi’s former spouse, Alex Kwong Kong-chi, 28, his father, Kwong Kau, 65, and elder brother Anthony Kwong Kong-kit, 32, are behind bars on a joint murder charge for allegedly killing the model in the Tai Po village house.

Kwong’s mother, Jenny Li Sui-heung, 63, who has been charged with perverting the course of justice, has also been denied bail.

Two others who were granted temporary release are accused of helping with Kwong’s attempted escape to Macau with intent to impede his arrest.

The six suspects appeared in Kowloon City Court on Monday when prosecutors explained investigators’ preliminary findings. The prosecution confirmed that all suspects connected with the murder had been arrested.

Initial DNA examinations concluded that bloodstains inside Anthony Kwong’s car, as well as the skull and legs found in the village house, belonged to Choi, the court heard.

A jacket found in the flat was believed to have been worn by Li, whose DNA was found on it.

Prosecutors applied for a second adjournment as police required extra time to inspect more than 30 items seized from the premises, including electric saws, knives, hammers and kitchenware.

The accused will appear before the same court for a third pretrial hearing on July 31. SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST