The defence challenged an arresting officer’s account of how Abby Choi’s former husband was arrested and how his mouth-swab samples were recorded and packaged, during the latest evidence in the murder trial at the High Court.
Three defendants are charged with murdering Choi on 21 February 2023 and preventing the lawful burial of her body between 21 and 23 February. The officer testified that he and a colleague arrested her former husband in Tung Chung on 25 February. He said the man struggled and fell, sustaining a 2-by-2-centimetre abrasion on his right cheek.
The defence suggested police used excessive force during the arrest and caused the injury. The officer denied rough treatment, saying he tried to control the man because he was struggling.
The officer said he later collected the man’s oral-swab samples at West Kowloon Police Headquarters, using two swabs and placing them in containers. He described attaching barcode labels and sealing the containers in tamper-evident evidence bags for DNA testing. In cross-examination, the defence pointed out that his 2023 statement did not mention the labels or bags. He agreed they were absent, said he did not record every step, and denied forgetting them.
The prosecution told the court that police delivered the samples to the Government Laboratory on 1 March 2023. A laboratory expert testified that the samples she examined were properly preserved and labelled, and that the DNA results would be provided for comparison with crime-scene evidence.
The prosecution also read an agreed statement that no DNA from Choi was found on a seized hammer.