Black Hill murder suspects charged after two return to scene of Hong Kong killing for police reconstruction

The three Hongkongers accused of luring their friend up a hill before killing him and pushing him down a slope were jointly charged with murder on Tuesday night after two of them went with police to the scene of the alleged crime earlier in the day to reconstruct the events.

All three suspects were being held for questioning at Tsz Wan Shan police station and jointly charged with one count of murder on Tuesday night. The case was scheduled to be mentioned at Kwun Tong Court on Wednesday.

Aged 21 to 27, the men were ­arrested on Monday morning on suspicion of killing Bosco Kwok Wai-nok, 20.

Police cordoned off a section of O King Road near Kwong Tin Estate in Lam Tin before a ­seven-seat car carrying one of the murder suspects, 21, arrived at the bottom of Black Hill at about 10am Tuesday.

Wearing a long-sleeved shirt, shorts and a pair of white shoes, the man was hooded and ­handcuffed when he got out of the car. A plain-clothes police officer led him around on a metal chain.

The suspect had a brief ­conversation with another officer during the videotaped ­reconstruction, before they went up the hill along the Wilson Trail. Other officers combed the area for evidence.

The reconstruction ended at about 12.30pm and the suspect returned to the police station.

At about 4pm, another ­suspect, 27, also hooded and handcuffed, was taken to the hill for a reconstruction.

Monday’s arrests came several hours before Kwok, who was ­reported missing on Sunday, was found dead by firemen on a slope near the peak of Black Hill, also known as Ng Kwai Shan, at about 8.30am.

Chief Inspector Ng Chung-wai of the Kowloon East regional crime unit said on Monday that the victim had been stabbed in the neck, face and head, and initial ­examination showed he had been dead for more than 24 hours when he was found.

Police believe the suspects lured Kwok, a trainee air ­conditioning technician, up the hill in the early hours of Sunday to scout for and take photos of a ­suitable site to play war games.

The trio, who had known the victim through their shared ­hobby for about a year, met him at the Haven of Hope Hospital in Tseung Kwan O shortly after ­midnight.

Kwok came with a friend but the three suspects made an ­excuse to separate them and went up the hill with the victim. The three men later told the friend that Kwok had left by himself after ­getting a call at about 3.30am.

Police believe the victim was attacked near the top of the hill before being pushed down a slope.

A police source said it seemed the men had fallen out with Kwok over money to pay for war games equipment, leading to the ­“premeditated attack.”

The killing came to light after Kwok’s family reported him ­missing to police at about 1pm Sunday, and police cast doubt on the suspects’ story about Kwok leaving the hillside by himself.

Additional reporting by Danny Mok