PUBLISHED ONMarch 03, 2023 9:42 AMByJolynn ChiaHong Kong socialite Abby Choi was brutally murdered at the age of 28, and a sixth suspect has been arrested .
Yesterday (Mar 2), the police announced that a friend of Abby's ex-husband Alex Kwong was arrested on suspicion of aiding and abetting an offender.
The man, surnamed Lam, is reportedly the former assistant of Hong Kong singer-actor Ronald Cheng.
Hong Kong media reported that the 41-year-old man used to work at record company Gold Typhoon in the marketing department and had worked with most of the big names there.
Subsequently, he became Ronald's personal assistant and Ronald reportedly liked bringing Lam to social events because of his bubbly personality.
Netizens revealed on Weibo that Lam posted photos taken with numerous celebrities on his social media account, including Jay Chou, Show Lo, Eason Chan and William So.
The police shared in their Thursday briefing that Lam worked for a yacht rental company, and is suspected to have accepted HK$300,000 (S$51,500) in payment to assist Kwong to leave Hong Kong by speedboat on Feb 25.
In a South China Morning Post report, a source revealed that the speedboat was supposed to take Kwong from a Tung Chung pier to international waters, where he would board another boat.
Even though the escape did not come to fruition, Hong Kong police suspect that Lam had knowledge of the entire murder plan.
When asked, Ronald, 50, reportedly said: "Details have not been confirmed yet. This assistant left eight years ago and I have not contacted him since, so I am not sure what's happening."
On Feb 21, Abby was reported missing and some of her body parts, including her legs, were later found in a flat in Lung Mei Tsuen. On Feb 26, what is believed to be her skull and ribs were discovered in soup pots.
A hole was found at the back of the skull and forensic experts believed it was caused by the fatal blow.
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Four suspects were arrested, namely Abby's former husband Alex Kwong, 28, his father, 65, his mother, 63, and his older brother, 31. A 47-year-old woman, surnamed Ng and reportedly the elderly Kwong's mistress, has also been arrested. They appeared in court on Feb 27.
Police said it was believed Ng rented a luxury flat in West Kowloon's Arch Sky Tower development for Alex Kwong to hide in. She is also accused of renting the flat where Abby's remains were found. Ng was released on bail, and is required to report to the police later in March.
Hong Kong police conducted a search for Abby's torso and arms in a city landfill on Feb 28, after her family identified her other remains at a mortuary.
"We understand that an attempt to find two or three refuse bags in 3,000 to 4,000 tonnes of rubbish is just like finding a needle in a haystack," Superintendent Alan Chung of the Kowloon West regional crime unit shared on Thursday. The police also announced that they have ceased their search operations.
Some of Abby's body, such as her torso and hands, have not been recovered.
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jolynn.chia@asiaone.com