2 denied bail after 8 arrested over murder of elderly Hong Kong man
Hong Kong Free Press
Two people charged with the murder of an elderly Hong Kong man in Yuen Long last month have been denied bail.
The pair – 65-year-old Hui Kwong-yiu and 32-year-old Lam Chi-yiu – stand accused of murdering Chan Kwong-kuen, 73, on On Lok Road in Yuen Long on March 29. The case was mentioned at Tuen Mun Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.
Police arrested a total of eight people in relation to the case on Monday and Tuesday. So Sai-man, 30, and Wong Ho-yin, 33, were charged with conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. Lam also faces the same charge. So and Wong were granted a cash bail of HK$100,000 each, and must report to the police station every day, local media reported.
The other three were released on bail without charge, while the last arrestee was being detained for investigation, authorities said on Wednesday evening.
The incident happened in the early hours of March 29, when police received a report at around 3:30 a.m. that a man had been attacked on On Lok Road in Yuen Long. Officers arrived to find the victim unconscious with multiple wounds.
He was rushed to Pok Oi Hospital and certified dead just before 5 a.m.
Acting Superintendent So Chi-bing of the organised crime and triad bureau said in a press conference on Wednesday that there were eight cuts on his body, all on his arms and legs. An initial examination suggested that he had died of excessive bleeding.
The victim, who lived close to the scene of the attack and worked at a nearby market, set out from his apartment in the early hours every day to go to the market, the police said.
“It is believed that he was walking to work at the time,” So said.
He added that the alleged attacker took a white private car to the scene, arriving 15 minutes before the victim left his home. Wielding a knife, the attacker was then said to have got out of his car and assaulted the victim before getting back on the car and fleeing.
Police investigation showed that there was a “suspicious vehicle” nearby that was suspected to have been involved in the alleged attack.
“The vehicle left at the same time as the white car… they were then driven to somewhere rural, and it is believed that was done to erase evidence and make police investigation more difficult,” So said.
Local media, including HK01 and Ming Pao, reported that the victim was a member of the residents’ association for Lee King Building, where an eatery – Ka Lai Yuen Chiu Chow Restaurant – occupies the ground floor unit. The association had previously complained that the restaurant operated machinery for making meatballs in the middle of the night, causing a nuisance to residents who lived above, Ming Pao reported.
One of those arrested, Hui, was reported to be the restaurant’s boss. The chairperson of the residents’ association told media outlets that the noise “caused the whole building to shake” and had affected tenants for years.
Police have seized items including the clothes worn by the alleged attacker at the time of the incident, his phone, and three vehicles related to the scene. Officers also confiscated 18 mobile phones, nine knives, a hammer, four black caps, three windbreakers and some gloves at a flat in Yuen Long.
The case was adjourned to July 5.
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