Deadly 'love triangle'

A mainland woman was arrested for allegedly stabbing her lover to death in a taxi in Yuen Long early yesterday, while two others - another woman and a man - were detained on suspicion of assisting her.

The murder happened at around 4am. The two female suspects - 36-year-old mainland housewife Liu and 37-year-old Hongkonger Lam - and the 48-year-old male victim surnamed Mok, are believed to have taken a taxi near Shui Pin Wai Estate on Ma Miu Road.

Sources said Liu and Mok, both married, had an affair and the three were fighting over relationship issues inside the cab, followed by a physical altercation in which Mok was stabbed more than once.

He sustained deep wounds in the chest from a sharp object, while the two women are believed to have taken another taxi and fled.

The man, with two-inch wounds on both sides of his chest, was unconscious when rushed to Pok Oi Hospital, where he died at 5.47am. Sources said both women live at a public estate, Tin Ching Estate, in Tin Shui Wai and were arrested an hour later.

Liu, who came to Hong Kong with a two-way permit, was arrested on suspicion of murder, while Lam, a jobless Hongkonger, was arrested for allegedly assisting an offender.

Both of them are being detained for investigation. Yesterday was Liu's birthday, sources said.

Assistant district commander of crime in Yuen Long Basil Tang Yick-kay said the 29-year-old man was arrested in Tin Shui Wai at 7pm yesterday for allegedly assisting an offender with intent to impede her arrest.

The police are still investigating the case and more arrests could be made, he said.

Tang also said Liu and Mok had a romantic relationship and Liu allegedly attacked Mok with a knife. Police are still investigating why Liu brought a knife with her.

Police officers sealed off the nearby area of the taxi for forensic investigation and the case has been classified as murder.

There was a large pool of blood in and around the cab, and a key was found inside.

Sources said two women got in the backseat of the taxi first, followed by Mok who was arguing with one of them. The taxi driver overheard their argument and Mok shouted "Stab one, two and three ... times"

The two women then left the car and took another taxi. Their initial taxi driver saw Mok lying motionless in the back seat and called police.

The cabbie who drove the two women away said she did not know the two allegedly killed Mok and only heard about the news later. She then voluntarily returned to the crime scene to assist police investigation.

Tse said she was waiting at a taxi stand on Ma Miu Road in Yuen Long and was second in line when she saw the two women and Mok heading over.

"They just finished hanging out at a nearby bar and all of them were a bit drunk. They chatted for a while next to the taxi in front of me and it seemed like [the two women] did not want the man to get in the taxi with them," Tse said.

"After chatting with the women, the man followed them to get in the cab but the door remained open. I don't know what happened exactly but they pushed each other inside the taxi, probably having a quarrel, then the two women got out of the cab and came to my taxi," she added.

Tse said the two women spoke Putonghua, which she did not understand, but they appeared to be calm and got off near Tin Ching Estate. "I did not know such a serious crime happened until I watched the newsI thought they were just having a quarrel," she said.

wallis.wang@singtaonewscorp.com