A sixth suspect has been arrested in connection with the murder of 28-year-old Hong Kong socialite Abby Choi, whose dismembered body was discovered last week.
The suspect, a 41-year-old man surnamed Lam, allegedly tried to help one of the other suspects in the murder case flee Hong Kong by water for a fee of HK$100,000 (S$17,000), police said in a briefing on Thursday evening.
Lam, the employee of a yacht rental company, was arrested in Sheung Wan, a district west of central Hong Kong, on Thursday afternoon. He is believed to have assisted Ms Choi’s former husband Alex Kwong, 28, who attempted to flee Hong Kong via a speedboat on Feb 25.
The grisly details of Ms Choi’s murder have attracted worldwide media attention. She was reported missing on Feb 21 and several body parts, including her legs, were found on Feb 24.
Her head was found two days later, together with other body parts, in a large soup pot in a rented village house in Tai Po, a suburb in Hong Kong. Officers also seized a meat grinder, electric saw and knives.
On Tuesday, Hong Kong police started a search for Ms Choi’s missing torso and arms in a city landfill about the size of a football field, after her family members identified her other remains at a mortuary.
At Thursday’s media briefing, police said they have not found any more evidence related to the murder case, and that the search operation had ended.
When Kwong was arrested in a police ambush at Tung Chung pier on Lantau Island, he had HK$500,000 in cash and several luxury watches worth about HK$4 million on him.
In addition to Kwong, three others have been charged in connection with the brutal killing. The three are Kwong’s brother, father and mother. They are scheduled to appear in court again on May 8.
Ms Choi, who had two children with Kwong before their divorce, had two more children with her new partner Tam Chuk Kwan. Ms Choi and Mr Tam underwent wedding rites in 2016 without legally registering their marriage.
The mastermind behind the murder is believed to be Kwong’s father and Ms Choi’s former father-in-law, Kwong Kau, 65, a former policeman. The police say a property dispute is a possible motive for the murder.
The older Kwong’s mistress was also arrested but was released on bail on Tuesday, with an order to report to the police at the end of March.
The mistress, a masseuse whose full name has not been disclosed by the authorities, is said to have rented the first-floor flat of the three-storey property where Ms Choi’s body parts were found.
Ms Choi was reportedly attacked in a car and taken in an unconscious state to the village house. The exact time of her death is still being investigated.
Police said the investigation has been difficult as the suspects are not cooperating.
About a dozen officers interviewed residents in the vicinity of the village house on Wednesday, asking whether they had heard noises or seen anyone suspicious in the neighbourhood on Feb 21, the day Ms Choi was reported missing.
Police on Thursday said they are still collecting evidence at the crime scene.
