War-gamer stands trial on perversion of justice charge tied to data deleted from dead player’s phone
- Jack Wong Wai-ho admits taking iPhone to shop to erase it but did not know it belonged to player found dead on a hillside
- Case involves group of enthusiasts who went hiking in the hills of Tseung Kwan O in May 2017
A war-gamer is being tried over an accusation he perverted the course of justice by deleting data from a phone that belonged to a fellow enthusiast, whose body was found covered in blood on a Hong Kong hillside.
Prosecutor Mark Wei opened his case against Jack Wong Wai-ho, 21, before a seven-member jury in the High Court after the defendant pleaded not guilty to doing an act tending and intended to pervert the course of public justice and handling stolen goods, charges stemming from May 28, 2017.
Both counts relate to the death of Bosco Kwok Wai-nok, 20, who joined several war-gamers for a night hike in Tseung Kwan O the day before. His body was found covered in blood, the head wrapped in a gunny sack on Black Hill on May 29.
There was no sign of his phone or the backpack he was carrying when he left home on May 27 as captured by his building’s CCTV.
Instead, his iPhone was found in the home of fellow gamer, Benard Chow Ching-yin, on May 29. His backpack, headphones and some war game equipment were found in Wong’s flat two days later, according to prosecutors.
An autopsy concluded Kwok had died from multiple stab wounds to the neck and injuries to the head, one to two days before his body was discovered after his family filed a missing-person report.