Two Soup Pots, One Luxury Flat, and a Trial Still Running

One

In the early hours of 24 February 2023, police forced their way into a rented village house in Lung Mei Village, Tai Po, Hong Kong.

Waterproof sheeting covered the walls inside. Bloodstains and tiny pieces of flesh were spattered across it. A pair of human legs was in the refrigerator. The flesh on the thighs had been cut away to the bone. The lower legs were more intact. Police found Choi Tin-fung’s identity documents in the house. Two soup pots stood in the kitchen. Each was 50 centimetres tall. Few ordinary households buy pots that large. The police did not open them at the scene. They took both pots back to the station. On the 26th, forensic pathologists confirmed the deceased’s head inside one pot. Cooking had separated flesh, bone, and hair. DNA had degraded. Identification relied on the teeth.

Green radish and carrots had been put into the pot.

Choi Tin-fung was born in 1994 into a wealthy family. She attended an international school in Hong Kong from the age of 10. People around her described her as good-tempered and willing to help. At around 15, she began dating Kwong Kong-chi. At 18 she married him and gave birth to a son and a daughter. After the marriage, Kwong Kong-chi did not work and depended on Choi for living expenses. He was also suspected of running an online scam. He claimed he could resell gold at high prices. The amount involved was about HK$5 million. In 2015, Hong Kong police took him away in front of Choi. A court later granted him bail. He failed to report to the police station on time and became a wanted fugitive. Choi divorced him that same year.

After the divorce, she promised to look after the Kwong family for the rest of their lives.

Two

In 2019, Choi bought a luxury flat on Kadoorie Hill for about HK$72.8 million. To save more than HK$7 million in stamp duty, she registered the property in the name of her former father-in-law, Kwong Kau, as a “first home.” In December 2020, the Kwong family moved in. That night, Kwong Kong-kit posted about it on social media and showed off.

In 2021, Choi funded Hung Hung Snack Company Limited. Kwong Kong-kit became a director. She put up the money and did not manage operations. The company lost money. Citibank pursued Kwong Kong-kit over a HK$239,000 debt for breach of contract. Choi said, “It doesn’t matter.” Kwong Kong-kit posted photos with her on media and captioned them “sibling love.”

In November 2022, Choi proposed selling the Kadoorie Hill property. She planned to cash out and buy a property in Tuen Mun worth more than HK$10 million to resettle the Kwong family. Her eldest son with Kwong Kong-chi attended an international school in Tuen Mun. Living there would make it easier to care for him. The Kwong family refused. Kwong Kau reacted most fiercely. He threatened: “If you don’t arrange things properly, I’ll kill you.”

Choi sought to resolve the matter through legal channels. In January 2023, she put the property up for sale at HK$77 million. When prospective buyers came to view it, Kwong Kau argued with her. She cut the asking price to HK$63 million.

Three

On the afternoon of 21 February 2023, Choi was on her way to pick up the children she had with her ex-husband from school. She lost contact. That evening, her current husband, Chris, reported it to the police. On 22 February, the police issued a missing-person appeal. In the early hours of 24 February, police forced their way into the Lung Mei Village house and arrested Kwong Kau, Kwong Kong-kit and Li Sui-heung. On 25 February, Kwong Kong-chi was arrested at a pier near Hong Kong International Airport. He had been hiding in a flat Kwong Kau had rented for his mistress. The airport was under police surveillance. He did not have time to board a flight.

Less than two days passed between the report and the arrests of the main suspects.

Public reports say Kwong Kong-kit drove Choi to near the Lion Rock Tunnel and stopped after she got into the car. Kwong Kong-chi got in. He argued with Choi and assaulted her. Blood on the car seat matched Choi’s blood. The car then drove to the rented house in Lung Mei Village. The tools used in the offence had been prepared in advance. Police later seized an electric saw, a meat grinder, masks and gloves from the scene. The body had been dismembered, chopped up and cooked. The blood and tiny pieces of flesh on the waterproof sheeting had not been cleaned up when the police arrived.

Four

As of October 2026, the charges of murder and preventing the lawful burial of a corpse against Kwong Kong-chi, Kwong Kau and Kwong Kong-kit remain under jury trial in the High Court of Hong Kong. The High Court has continued to hold hearings and summon witnesses, including Choi’s current husband and mother. The case is complex. The trial is expected to last about 45 days. No verdict has been reached on the murder charges.

Judgments already handed down concern peripheral offences. Li Sui-heung was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment for perverting the course of justice. Kwong Kong-chi was sentenced to 42 months’ imprisonment for theft committed years earlier and for absconding on bail. Two others were convicted of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice for helping Kwong Kong-chi abscond.

In 2025, the High Court ruled on custody of the four children. The eldest son and second daughter Choi had with Kwong Kong-chi are being raised by Choi’s mother, Cheung Yin-fa. The two children she had with her current husband are being raised by their stepfather. Cheung Yin-fa publicly clarified that the estate was being managed by the lawful administrator under Hong Kong law. She said the two families were not fighting over the estate.

Five

Hong Kong carried out its last execution in 1966. The death penalty as the statutory punishment for murder was formally abolished in 1993. The current Offences against the Person Ordinance provides that an adult convicted of murder must be sentenced to life imprisonment. The judge has no discretion in sentencing.

Time served under life imprisonment is not fixed. The Chief Executive in Council decides each prisoner’s case on the recommendation of the Long-Term Prison Sentences Review Board. The board advises whether to set a minimum term or grant conditional release. Some life prisoners may be considered after serving a considerable period. This is not automatic. It is not easy. If there is a murder conviction in this case, the premeditated nature of the offence, its extreme violence and the danger it poses to society would all weigh heavily in the executive review.

Six

Kindness in this case needed legal form. Choi gave away control without keeping the paperwork that would let her take it back.

For a HK$72.8 million property, the registered owner is the legal owner. When the person who paid and the person on the title are different, control sits with the person on the title. If someone lends their name as a company director and the company loses money, the director is pursued for debt. The funder says “It doesn’t matter.” Legally, that phrase describes the funder’s attitude. It does not erase the director’s liability. A promise after divorce to look after the ex-husband’s family for life is a promise emotionally. Legally, it has no corresponding binding structure. What she gave was help in the eyes of the giver and entitlement in the eyes of the receiver. When she wanted to take back some control, the relationship flipped from gratitude to betrayal.

Anyone who leaves financial arrangements to emotional trust and lets legal boundaries give way to embarrassment carries the same kind of risk. Most people’s risk does not end with soup pots and a meat grinder.

Seven

Two of the four children lost their mother. The other two lost their mother while their father and grandfather stand trial for murder. The eldest son and second daughter are being raised by their maternal grandmother. The other two children are being raised by their stepfather. Custody has been decided. The murder case is still being tried.

The High Court trial continues. The jury will hear witnesses testify. They will see physical evidence. They will hear examination by the prosecution and defence. They have to decide what those two soup pots, that electric saw, that roll of waterproof sheeting, and the threat “If you don’t arrange things properly, I’ll kill you” mean in law.

The trial has not ended. The green radish and carrots in the soup pot, together with the head, are already part of the evidence presented in court.