‘I never had a special relationship with murder accused,’ young woman tells Hong Kong body-in-cement trial
- Ho Ling-yu shared a bed with accused Tsang Cheung-yan, 29, but she regarded him as a ‘vicious and spiteful’ man, High Court hears
- Young mother says it was Tsang who first brought up the topic of killing Cheung Man-li for US$30 million
A Hong Kong woman on Thursday denied having a special relationship with the man she accused of murdering his business partner, whose body was later found encased in cement in the flat they shared.
The High Court heard that Ho Ling-yu, 22, had shared a bed with the accused, Tsang Cheung-yan, 29, but that she regarded him as a “vicious and spiteful” man who controlled everyone living in the flat where the body of Cheung Man-li, 28, was found in 2016.
The young mother also said it was Tsang who first brought up the topic of killing Cheung, also known as Ah J, for US$30 million and rejected suggestions from his defence counsel that the price tag was a mere reference to his partner’s value.
Tsang, together with his two other flatmates – Keith Lau, 24, and Cheung Sin-hang, 26 – have pleaded not guilty to one joint count of murder, which allegedly took place on March 4, 2016.
Testifying for a second day, Ho said Tsang had asked to be her “sworn father” after she moved into flat 9D of DAN6 industrial building in Tsuen Wan between October and November in 2015.
There, the two of them shared a mattress, but Ho denied having any physical or special relationship with Tsang.
“I could see he was so miserable so I said yes casually,” she said. “He said I would be the sworn daughter of his wife.”
Woman thought flatmates were joking about murder plan, court hears
The jury was told that Tsang would give Ho HK$8,000 (US$1,025) a month, buy her food and pay for her shopping, on top of supporting his two other flatmates.
But under cross-examination by defence counsel for Lau and Cheung, Ho revealed a different side to Tsang and agreed to descriptions that called him a lying, “vicious and spiteful” man.
She also agreed to claims that Tsang had fed his flatmates strong orange drinks laced with powder that would make them tired, impair their thinking and affect their judgment.
“I did refuse to drink but I was unable to,” Ho continued. “He kept asking me to drink it.”
Cheung’s counsel Steve Tsui said: “All of you listened to [Tsang’s] commands.”
The witness agreed.
Her testimony continues before Mr Justice Patrick Li Hon-leung on Friday.
