Officer Mak Chung-hung began giving evidence last Thursday.

He said when he entered storeroom 15112 in the Kissels' Parkview residential complex, the first thing he noticed was the ``large roll'' of carpet and strong odor that seemed to be coming from it. The carpet appeared to be securely wrapped with tape and rope.

Kissel, 41, is accused of beating her husband to death with a heavy metal ornament on November 2, 2003, after serving him a pink milkshake laced with sedatives that left him unconscious at the foot of their bed.

Friends of former Merrill Lynch banker Robert Kissel have testified that he believed his wife had a secret lover in the United States and had planned to discuss divorce proceedings the night of his murder.

Kissel told a doctor and the police at the time that her drunken husband assaulted her after she refused him sex and then disappeared. She denies the murder charge and is out on bail.

The banker's decomposing body, wrapped in a carpet and emitting a foul smell, was discovered in the Parkview storeroom at Tai Tam in the early hours of November 7.

Last week, police officers testified that they had originally gone to the premises to investigate a report concerning a missing person and Nancy Kissel's assault claim.

Senior inspector See Kwong-tak said Monday ``instinct'' told him he should check the storeroom after he saw the master bedroom was in ``disarray.''

He said Nancy Kissel had a private conversation with her father, Ira Keeshin.

He could not hear what they were discussing, but Keeshin then walked towards him, saying, ``Oh my God, I can't believe it,'' four to five times while clutching his head. The keys to the storeroom were then handed over and the body found.

Senior counsel Alexander King, defending, pointed out that See had already obtained search warrants on the basis of a murder investigation. But See insisted he only ``had a suspicion'' and the primary purpose of the visit was to investigate the report concerning the missing person and the assault claim.

King said See was answering ``like a cat playing with a mouse.'' He suggested to See that the police had gained entry on the ``pretence'' of investigating the two matters because they would not have to caution Kissel and inform her of her right to silence under that scenario.

Tuesday, the designated note-taker for the investigation on November 6, Ng Yuk-ying, said she failed to record the accused's demonstration of the alleged assault in the bedroom because she was outside the room and could not hear.

She also said she heard Kissel's father walk towards officers, exclaiming, ``My God, I don't believe it,'' four or five times but, because she was so surprised, she forgot to make a note of it.

King said Ng's notes suggest Kissel was arrested more than three hours before the police say the arrest took place and before there was any mention of lawyers or her right to silence. Although Ng testified that Kissel had asked for a lawyer before she handed over the keys to the storeroom, King pointed out this was not recorded in her notebook.

Ng responded, ``Actually, I don't write down each and every word.''

King suggested that while Ng guarded Kissel as other police officers searched the storeroom, Kissel had said repeatedly that ``he wouldn't stop,'' but since Ng did not write down every detail, it was not recorded.

Police constable Cheung Tseung-sin described Wednesday how the body was packed in the carpet. According to Cheung, Robert Kissel's body was first placed in a Nikko sleeping bag belonging to one of his children, and the roll of carpet was further packed with white towels and a plastic sheet.

The top and bottom of the rolled carpet were covered with plastic bags and sealed with adhesive tape. Cushions were tied to the outside of the carpet with blue nylon rope.

The case continues before Justice Michael Lunn.