Abby Choi trial hears socialite remained intimate with ex-husband after divorce

The elder brother of Abby Choi Tin-fung's former husband testified at the High Court that there was no premeditated plot among the 3 male family members to harm the 28-year-old socialite, as the murder trial entered its 37th day. 

Taking the witness stand, Anthony Kwong Kong-kit told the court that Choi and his younger brother, Alex Kwong Kong-chi, maintained an affectionate relationship long after their divorce, asserting that killing her brought neither him nor his father any practical benefit.

Continued affection and physical intimacy described after divorce

Anthony Kwong recounted that his younger brother possessed a mild temperament and never argued back whenever Choi reprimanded him. 

He told the court that following their 2019 divorce, the pair remained intimate through to 2023, noting that he frequently heard Alex address Choi with terms of endearment and saw them kissing during a trip to Hainan between 2017 and 2018. 

Concluding his direct examination, Anthony Kwong insisted that neither he, his brother, nor their father planned to kill Choi or cause her bodily harm on February 21, 2023.

Intertwined family dynamic and dispute inside vehicle

Under cross-examination by Oliver Davies, counsel for former police officer Kwong Kau, Anthony Kwong said Choi became upset in 2022 upon learning that Alex was dating a mainland woman, asking him to return to Hong Kong. 

He testified that he believed the two never truly parted ways, adding that Choi's subsequent husband, Chris Tam Fong-chun, was aware of their ongoing closeness and raised no objections.

Recounting the day of the alleged killing, Anthony Kwong said an argument broke out between Choi and Alex inside a vehicle. 

After feeling an impact against his driver's seat and hearing his brother crying, he telephoned his father for help, reporting only that Choi was unresponsive. 

He maintained that he realized Choi had died only after Kwong Kau arrived and physically touched her, adding that he had never seen a meat grinder in the Tai Po village house and had spent nearly 4 years remanded in custody for a crime that offered him no gain.

Family background and joint murder trial

Anthony Kwong testified that his father had served in the police force for 30 years before retiring in 2000, noting that Kwong Kau held no attachment to luxury flats over public housing and raised no objections to selling a property at Kadoorie Hill.

The 3 defendants—Kwong Kau, Anthony Kwong, and Alex Kwong—have pleaded not guilty to murdering Choi on February 21, 2023 inside a village house at Lung Mei in Tai Po, while admitting a joint charge of preventing her lawful burial. 

The trial continues before Deputy High Court Judge Brian Keith.

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