Two in court accused of promenade murder
An insurance agent and an unemployed man appeared in court yesterday charged with murdering a woman on the Tsim Sha Tsui East promenade just before the Lunar New Year holiday.
Insurance agent Chow Wai-kei, 30, and Kong Pui-lam, 27, who is unemployed, entered no pleas at Kwun Tong Court to a joint count of murder. They are accused of murdering the woman, identified as Chen Fan, on Friday on the waterfront promenade, opposite the Empire Centre in Mody Road.
The hearing was adjourned until April 12, when they will appear at Kowloon City Court. The adjournment was granted for police to conduct further inquiries into the case. Magistrate Lambert Lee Ka-chai remanded the pair in custody until the next hearing.
During yesterday's hearing, Chow complained to the magistrate through a duty lawyer representing him that police had maltreated him in custody.
He alleged that two plain-clothes officers injured him in the chest and on both thighs, and that they poured water over him. He also said they threatened to cause trouble with his father. Lee noted the complaints.
