[imagesource:  Instagram/@xxabbyc]

It always comes down to money.

The harrowing death of Hong Kong socialite Abby Choi Tin-fung has attracted worldwide media attention as her head was believed to have been found in a pot of soup.

Four of her former in-laws were remanded in custody without bail on Monday in connection with her murder, including her jobless ex-husband Alex Kwong Kong-chi.

The murder is believed to be linked to a dispute between Choi and the Kwong family over a property worth tens of millions of dollars in the exclusive Kadoorie Hill neighbourhood in Ho Man Tin, Hong Kong.

A police probe shows that Choi had planned to sell the property, which she had bought under the name of her former father-in-law.

This apparently sparked major conflict, and then Choi went missing on Tuesday last week.

 

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After deploying dogs and drones, scouring a cemetery, and searching sewage manholes, police in Hong Kong found the missing skull of the 28-year-old socialite and mother of four inside a large soup pot, reported VICE.

The pot apparently contained several ribs believed to belong to the victim as it stood in a village house in Tai Po:

Police found Choi’s dismembered legs in a refrigerator and her belongings, including credit cards and ID card, at a village house on the outskirts of the city on Friday, three days after she failed to pick up her child from school.

Officers collected evidence including a meat grinder and cleavers, an electric saw, black raincoats, gloves, face shields, and two pots containing what were later confirmed to be human tissue.

The apartment was rented just weeks ago by Choi’s former father-in-law, Kwong Kau, with walls and windows covered in tarpaulin, leading the police to believe that the murder was carefully planned.

 

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Choi’s ex-husband was arrested at a pier on Saturday, allegedly caught trying to flee the city by boat.

He was apparently carrying HK$500,000 (close to R2 million) in cash and Patek Philippe watches worth more than HK$4 million (just under R1 billion).

Alex’s brother, who was also Choi’s chauffeur, was also arrested, along with Choi’s ex-mother-in-law, who was allegedly aware of the plot and charged with perverting the course of justice.

The girlfriend of Choi’s ex-father-in-law was also accused of helping him rent the apartment where Choi’s remains were found:

“We believe the victim and her ex-husband’s family had many financial disputes involving huge sums,” police superintendent Alan Chung told reporters on Saturday. “Someone was dissatisfied with how the victim handled her assets.”

All that and her skull with hair attached, along with several ribs, and human tissue that they believe belong to her landed up inside a large pot of soup alongside radishes and carrots.

Police said the pot was filled with liquid and covered in layers of coagulated fat, which is why it took so long to find.

It is believed that Choi was murdered in a car and transported to the rented apartment to be severed and souped.

She leaves behind four children, two of whom she had with Alex Kwong and another two who she had with her recent husband Chris Tam Chuk-Kwan, the son of the founder of TamJai Yunnan Mixian, a popular noodle chain in Hong Kong.

[source:vice]