Hong Kong model’s former husband, in-laws charged with murder after body parts found

HONG KONG — 

The ex-husband and erstwhile in-laws of a slain Hong Kong exemplary were detained Monday connected suspicion of execution aft constabulary recovered assemblage parts successful a refrigerator and a pot. The lawsuit has gripped galore successful a metropolis wherever immoderate convulsive crime is rare.

Alex Kwong, exemplary Abby Choi’s erstwhile husband; his father, Kwong Kau; and his brother, Anthony Kwong, had been charged Sunday pinch murdering Choi. Alex Kwong’s mother, Jenny Li, faces 1 count of perverting nan people of justice. None of nan 4 has been granted bail.

Choi, a 28-year-old exemplary pinch much than 100,000 followers connected Instagram, vanished Tuesday, according to a study revenge later with nan Hong Kong Police. Her past station connected nan level was Feb. 19, featuring a photograph sprout she had done pinch manner mag L’Officiel Monaco.

On Friday, constabulary recovered her dismembered assemblage successful a refrigerator successful a location rented by Kwong Kau successful a suburban portion of Hong Kong astir a 30-minute thrust from mainland China.

Authorities later discovered a young woman’s skull believed to beryllium Choi’s successful a cooking cookware seized from nan house. Officials opportunity location was a spread successful nan skull.

The defendants person not yet entered their pleas, and it does not look that their lawyers person commented connected nan lawsuit to nan media. The lawsuit was adjourned until May.

Choi had financial disputes involving millions of dollars pinch her ex-husband and his family, constabulary said earlier, adding that “some people” were unhappy pinch really Choi handled her finances.

The gruesome sidesplitting has transfixed galore successful Hong Kong and crossed nan separator successful mainland China, since nan metropolis has a very debased level of convulsive crime.

Choi’s friend Bernard Cheng said he initially thought she had been kidnapped.

“I haven’t imagined a personification who’s truthful good, truthful afloat of love, truthful innocent, a personification who doesn’t do thing bad, will beryllium killed for illustration this,” he said. “My bosom is still heavy. I can’t slumber well.”

Cheng said Choi had 4 children, aged betwixt 3 and 10. Alex Kwong, 28, was nan begetter of nan older two, who are now being taken attraction of by Choi’s mother. Choi had remarried, to Chris Tam, nan begetter of nan younger children, who are staying pinch his family.

Cheng said Choi had bully relationships pinch her family, including her in-laws, and would recreation pinch nan families of her existent and erstwhile husbands together.

While convulsive crime is uncommon successful Hong Kong, nan lawsuit recalls a fistful of different shocking killings. In 2013, a man killed his parents, whose heads were later recovered successful refrigerators. In different infamous 1999 case, a female was kidnapped and tortured by 3 members of an organized crime group earlier her death. Her skull was later recovered stuffed successful a Hello Kitty doll.