Trial opens for two accused of helping ex-husband of slain model Abby Choi escape HK

A man and a woman faced trial on Monday for conspiracy to pervert the course of public justice, following allegations that they assisted the ex-husband of slain model Abby Choi Tin-fung in fleeing Hong Kong.

The defendants, 41-year-old yacht company staffer Lam Shun and 29-year-old jobless Pun Hau-yin, pleaded not guilty to the charges before  Kowloon City court Magistrate Philip Chan Chee-fai in December. 

They allegedly helped a man named “Alex” escape the city without passing through the Immigration Department's border control points between February 24 and 25, 2023. 

"Alex" was later identified as Choi’s former husband, Alex Kwong Kong-chi.

During the trial's first day at Kowloon City Magistrates’ Court, the prosecution presented facts signed by both defendants. 

These indicated that Alex Kwong, his father Kwong Kau, and elder brother Kwong Kong-kit have been charged with murder for allegedly butchering Choi in February 2023.

Alex Kwong was arrested at Tung Chung Development Pier on February 25, 2023, while trying to board a speedboat to flee. 

Lam was apprehended on March 2, following police discovery of a WeChat group chat that included him, Pun, Alex Kwong, and a Macau resident named “Ivy.” 

Upon his arrest, Lam claimed: “The case was none of my business; it was Irene Pun who introduced me to this guy, but I didn’t lend him the boat in the end.”

Pun was arrested on March 7 while passing through the Shenzhen Bay border control point. 

The prosecution presented voice messages from Alex Kwong's phone, in which a woman proposed an escape plan involving borrowing a yacht in Hong Kong and transferring to another boat once they reached the waters between Hong Kong and Macau.

WeChat chat records also revealed a yacht company offered HK$30,000, and Lam requested a bank deposit beforehand, noting that cash payments were not accepted.

(Eunice Lam)