Murdered model 'dismembered by her in-laws' had 'called them "scum" and completely funded their lifestyle before deciding to sell luxury apartment they lived in'

A Hong Kong model was planning to sell the flat of her 'scum' in-laws' after funding their luxury lifestyle before she was murdered and dismembered, a court heard. The body parts of 28-year-old Abby Choi were discovered by police at a suburban Hong Kong property in February 2023, in a case that sent shockwaves across the affluent financial hub. Her legs were found in a refrigerator, while her skull and numerous ribs were discovered in a large pot of carrot and vegetable soup on the stove. Some parts remain missing.Ms Choi, who rubbed shoulders with fashion elites and had a significant following online, posted photos from Paris Fashion Week mere days before she was killed. Her ex-husband Alex Kwong, 31, his father Kwong Kau, 68, and brother Anthony Kwong, 35, have pleaded not guilty to murder charges and have been on trial since Wednesday, September 30. They face life in prison if convicted. Ms Choi's mother, Cheung Yin-fa, told the court this week the model had entirely funded the lifestyle of her ex-husband, his brother and their parents. This continued after the couple's divorce, who shared two children. Her daughters-in-laws had 'not even bought a can of baby milk for their grandchildren', or bought her family a dim sum lunch, she said. But the once amiable relationship with Kwong Kau, a retired police officer, turned sour in 2022 when Ms Choi decided to sell her in-laws' £5.75million flat she was sponsoring – and move them to an area where her children could attend school. Police discovered parts of 28-year-old Abby Choi's dismembered body at a suburban Hong Kong property in February 2023 Ms Choi had shared photos from Paris Fashion Week just days before she was killedThe flat, prosecutors said, had been put in her former-in-laws' name in a bid to avoid second-home stamp duty. Ms Choi then received death threats from her father-in-law, Ms Yin-fa said, who also threatened to kill her entire family if she went through with the sale.The mother said Ms Choi had called him an 'old crook', 'scum' and a 'stinking bastard' – and described her former mother-in-law as 'ungrateful'. 'My daughter was truly good, so filial and well-behaved,' Ms Yin-fa told the Hong Kong High Court. 'She trusted the wrong people. This family repaid kindness with enmity.' Ms Choi vanished six months after she decided to sell the flat in Kowloon and following a number of altercations with her ex-husband.Prosecution lawyer Charlotte Draycott said that days before Ms Choi was reported missing, the defendants bought equipment later used to cut up and dispose of Ms Choi's body, including a mincing machine.A testimony from a neighbour was read out in court last week, detailing how they recalled hearing the whir of an electric chainsaw on February 21, 2023.The same neighbour claimed a foul smell later emanated from the ground-floor flat, according to local outlet The Standard. Police excavate a landfill during a search for the missing parts of Ms Choi's body The prosecution told the court that the whirring noise and putrid stench were tied to the defendants' efforts to dispose of Ms Choi's body. They say Ms Choi was picked up from her flat on February 21 by her former brother-in-law, who she employed as a chauffeur, to pick her daughter up from school. But her ex-husband was poised in the back seat of the vehicle with a hammer. While denying murder, the two brothers pleaded guilty to preventing the lawful burial of Ms Choi's body – a charge their father denies.Ms Yin-fa said she last communicated with her daughter at 2pm on February 21 when she texted saying she was picking up her daughter. She, however, never came home. Ms Yin-fa and her husband then reported her disappearance to the police. This sparked another explosion of anger from the Kwongs, the court heard. Ms Choi, whose mother and stepfather were rich business people in Hong Kong with ties to the Chinese mainland, met her ex-husband Kwong at school. She gave birth to their first child at 18, and they married shortly afterwards. The young couple had another child before splitting. Ms Choi then began a new relationship with Chris Tam Fong-chun, a successful restaurateur, and had two more children with him. But Ms Choi continued to fund the Kwongs, putting the flat in her former father-in-law's name, as well as another property on the mainland and a Rolls-Royce watch. The case continues.