Man arrested over dumped body

Shenzhen police have arrested a Hong Kong man, 50, after the dismembered body of his wife - a Hong Kong businesswoman - was found at a house in western Guangdong.

The dismembered body of Lam Fan, 52, was dumped into a manhole in the backyard of his mother's house in Zhangjiang , Xinhua reported. The man left Hong Kong for Shenzhen with Lam on January 15 and then went to Zhanjiang, about 700 kilometres away.

Xinhua said investigations showed Lam was killed in the small hours of the following day at a house owned by her mother-in-law in Zhanjiang city.

'After the killing, the dismembered pieces were dumped into a manhole in the backyard of the house,' the news agency stated.

The mother-in-law was not at home at the time of the killing.

Mainland police began an investigation after Lam went missing and her son sought help from Shenzhen police in the middle of January.

Her family also reported her missing to Hong Kong police on January 20. Investigations showed that she disappeared after she left her trading company in Sheung Wan on January 15 and lost contact with her family.

Asked whether Hong Kong police sought help from mainland authorities to find the woman, a spokesman said the force would not comment on individual cases.

After a two-month investigation, Shenzhen police arrested the man in the middle of this month. Lam's dismembered body was recovered after he was escorted by police to the house in Zhanjiang on March 17.

The Xinhua report said the man was being detained for questioning and Zhanjiang police were following up the case.