The murder trial of Abby Choi opened in Hong Kong’s High Court before a jury of eight men and one woman, with the prosecution alleging that a dispute over a luxury flat led to her killing. Choi’s former husband, former father-in-law and former elder brother-in-law are charged with murder and preventing the lawful burial of her body.
All three defendants deny murder. Choi’s former husband and former elder brother-in-law admit the charge of preventing lawful burial, while her former father-in-law denies both charges. The prosecution’s opening case is that the dispute centred on a flat in Kadoorie Hill, bought by Choi in 2019 for about HK$60 million and registered in her former father-in-law’s name to reduce her tax exposure because she already owned other property.
The prosecution alleges that Choi later wanted to sell the flat and move the family towards Tuen Mun after her daughter needed to change schools. She asked the registered owner to sign an authorisation, but he repeatedly refused, according to the opening statement. The prosecution also alleges that Choi and her partner tried to discuss the matter with him in July 2022, when he lunged at or tried to hit her before her partner intervened.
The registered owner allegedly feared losing the property and then joined his two sons in a plan to kill Choi. The prosecution says her former elder brother-in-law, who worked as her driver, helped the group carry out the killing when she travelled alone. It further alleges that her body was taken to a village house rented in advance, where it was dismembered.
The opening described Choi as a model and online influencer with about 140,000 social-media followers and four children. The prosecution said her stepfather had provided about HK$10 million for her to manage or invest, while Choi supported her former husband’s family with housing-related help, a seven-seat vehicle, domestic assistance and a driver. She hired the former elder brother-in-law as a driver in 2022.
The judge directed jurors not to rely on reports they had already seen, read further media coverage or search online for information about the case during the trial. They were also told not to discuss the case with relatives, friends or colleagues.