Hong Kong police to search landfill in hunt for Abby Choi’s missing body parts

HONG KONG — More than 100 police officers wearing protective gear will carry out the grim task of combing through a Hong Kong landfill on Tuesday (Feb 28) as they continue their search for missing body parts of dismembered socialite Abby Choi Tin-fung.

The massive operation was ordered after a review of security camera footage near the crime scene in a Tai Po village allegedly showed a suspect moving bags from the flat where parts of her body were found to a nearby refuse collection area, a source on Monday said.

The video captured the movements last Wednesday, a day after the 28-year-old model was reported missing.

A skull and several ribs believed to belong to the victim were discovered in a large soup pot seized from the property in Lung Mei Tsuen on Friday. Two female legs were also found inside a refrigerator in the flat. Choi's torso and hands are among the body parts yet to be recovered.

"It is possible the bags were carrying her clothes, the victim's body parts or other evidence," the insider familiar with the case said.

He said rubbish collected at the refuse collection point was sent to the North East New Territories Landfill in Ta Kwu Ling.

Police had liaised with relevant authorities to narrow down the search area at the site, the source said.

"An excavator may be deployed to dig up the area involved before officers wearing protective gear move in and carry out the search," the insider said.

Police carried out a fruitless search over the weekend at a cemetery in Tseung Kwan O and in sewage in Lung Mei Tsuen.

Choi's family members are expected to identify the body parts at Fu Shan Mortuary in Sha Tin on Tuesday.

Four former family members, arrested for their roles in the murder, were remanded in custody without bail after appearing before court on Monday on charges of murder and perverting the course of justice.

Choi's ex-husband, Alex Kwong Kong-chi, his parents and elder brother were escorted to Kowloon City Court days after they were linked to the gruesome killing.

Kwong, 28, his father Kwong Kau, 65, and brother Anthony Kwong Kong-kit, 31, were charged over the murder of Choi on February 21.

The 63-year-old mother, Jenny Li Sui-heung, faces a charge of perverting the course of justice for allegedly destroying evidence against her during a police investigation on February 23.

The court heard Anthony Kwong was Choi's chauffeur and lived with his retired father at a government-subsidised flat in Tsuen Wan at the time of the alleged murder. His mother, also retired, and Choi's ex-husband, who was jobless, lived separately.

The court's public gallery was packed with journalists and spectators trying to catch a glimpse of the suspects. Dozens of visitors waited for news of the hearing at the concourse after they were denied entry.

The defendants, each flanked by two police officers in the dock, showed no visible reaction as a court clerk read out the charges against them. They were not required to speak, other than being asked to confirm they understood the allegations.

Senior Court Prosecutor Brian Lai Tak-ki applied for a 10-week adjournment for further investigation, including forensic examination of the evidence seized from the village house and a probe of the defendants' mobile conversation records.

He said Alex Kwong was also wanted by the District Court in relation to a 2015 theft case, where he jumped bail three months before his trial.

The ex-husband, who resided in an upscale flat in Kowloon, was found with a six-digit sum of cash and watches worth millions of dollars when he was arrested at Tung Chung Development Pier on Saturday, the court heard.

"There is every indication to show that the defendant was preparing his flight from Hong Kong," the prosecutor said.

Acting Principal Magistrate Peony Wong Nga-yan scheduled the next hearing for May 8 and instructed the prison service to take Alex Kwong to the District Court on Tuesday.

The trio facing the murder charge did not seek bail, as murder suspects can only apply for it before a High Court judge.

Li's application for temporary release was rejected after the prosecution raised an objection.

Some spectators in the public gallery let out exclamations of surprise when parts of the prosecution's case were read out in court during the bail proceedings, which were subject to reporting restrictions.

Anthony Kwong was seen nodding to his younger brother when he was escorted away from the court.

A fifth suspect was earlier arrested in connection with the case. The force had said it believed the 47-year-old woman surnamed Ng, who has yet to be charged, rented a flat in Tsim Sha Tsui to hide Choi's former husband before he was arrested. As of Monday night, she was still being held for questioning. SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST