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Abby Choi - murder of a model
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A Hong Kong woman was arrested in mainland China in connection with the murder of model Abby Choi Tin-fung, becoming the seventh person detained in a case that has shocked the world. Photo: Yik Yeung-man

Abby Choi murder: influencer charged by Hong Kong police after arrest in mainland China

  • Suspect, 29, handed over to Hong Kong police at border control point after being arrested in Shenzhen
  • Woman suspected of helping to arrange boat so victim’s ex-husband could flee city, according to source

A Hong Kong influencer has been charged after allegedly trying to help a suspect in the murder of model Abby Choi Tin-fung flee the city, after mainland Chinese authorities arrested her and handed her to local police.

The influencer, 29 and surnamed Pun, was handed over at the Shenzhen Bay border control point at about 11am on Tuesday, a source familiar with the case said. She became the seventh person detained over the slaying of the socialite late last month.

The insider said the woman was arrested on suspicion of assisting a suspect in relation to the case, adding that she was a friend of Choi’s ex-husband Alex Kwong Kong-chi.

The woman arrested on the mainland on Tuesday in connection with the case. Photo: Handout

“She was suspected of helping to arrange a boat to help the victim’s ex-husband flee the city,” the source said, adding that police were investigating if she was offered money for her role.

At about 5.30pm, the woman, who had around 35,000 Instagram followers, was escorted back to her flat, which she shares with her mother, at the luxury Cullinan private housing estate in West Kowloon for a search.

Hong Kong police sought help from their mainland counterparts to track down the woman after learning that she had left the city for neighbouring Guangdong province.

The source said the woman was arrested in Shenzhen. After being handed over to detectives from the Kowloon West regional crime unit at the border checkpoint, the suspect was escorted to Tin Shui Wai Police Station.

The woman was charged with assisting an offender on Tuesday night. She will be taken to Kowloon City court on Wednesday.

Police on Tuesday afternoon confirmed the arrest of the 29-year-old woman. “The arrest of the suspect in the mainland demonstrated the determination of the police of the two places in combating crimes jointly and upholding the rule of law,” the force said.

She was the third person arrested for assisting a suspect in the case, which first came to light on February 24.

Timeline of Hong Kong model Abby Choi’s murder

One of the trio, a 41-year-old man, was charged on Monday with assisting an offender but was granted bail after appearing in court.

The other was a 47-year-old woman who was accused of helping Kwong evade police. She has been released on bail pending further investigation.

The grisly case was uncovered when officers found body parts belonging to Choi, 28, who had been reported missing, in the ground-floor flat of a three-storey house in Tai Po’s Lung Mei Tsuen.

Police found two pots containing a skull and several ribs, alongside meat cleavers, a hammer, face shields, black raincoats and a purple handbag that belonged to Choi at the Tai Po flat. Two legs were also found in a refrigerator.

Abby Choi was reported missing on the night of February 21. Photo: Instagram/xxabbyc

DNA tests later confirmed the skull and legs were Choi’s, the Post learned.

Her torso and hands are still missing.

The model’s ex-husband, 28, alongside his 65-year-old father Kwong Kau, and brother Anthony Kwong Kong-kit, 31, were earlier charged in connection with Choi’s murder and remanded in custody without bail. Her former mother-in-law 63-year-old Jenny Li Sui-heung faces a charge of perverting the course of justice.

The four will return to Kowloon City Court on May 8.

Police last week mounted a three-day search for the socialite’s missing remains at a landfill site in Ta Kwu Ling after a check of security footage suggested someone had disposed of some bags at a refuse collection point.

Mother of slain Hong Kong model Abby Choi in court bid over luxury flat

The force said they suspected the bags could contain Choi’s missing body parts, her clothing and mobile phone, as well as murder weapons. But the force uncovered no further evidence after completing a search of the targeted area.

A day after discovering some of Choi’s remains at the village house on February 24, the force also searched Junk Bay Chinese Permanent Cemetery, with members of its abseiling team, its elite Special Duties Unit known as the “Flying Tigers” and police dogs joining the effort.

Police officers searched a landfill for missing body parts, but uncovered no evidence there. Photo: Sam Tsang

Police began investigating the socialite’s disappearance after she was reported missing on the night of February 21.

The mother of four was last seen at a luxury housing estate in the city’s exclusive Kadoorie Hill neighbourhood in Ho Man Tin on the same day. Her ex-husband, his parents and elder brother also lived in the area.

A review of CCTV footage showed she was picked up at the estate in a seven-seater car driven by her former brother-in-law, who worked as her chauffeur.

Readers disturbed by the details of this case are advised to call the Shall We Talk hotline operated by the Hong Kong Red Cross at 5164 5040 between 10am and 6pm. Reservations can also be made for counselling support using the same number on WhatsApp, the channel @hkrcshallwetalk on Telegram, or via this link.
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