In a gruesome case straight out of a horror movie, Ngan Wing-chau, a 52-year-old butcher by trade, allegedly murdered his ex-wife’s aunt, dismembered her corpse and disposed of the remains in plastic bags and a suitcase, the High Court heard yesterday.
At the first day of Ngan’s trial, jurors heard an array alleged details linking the defendant to the 2016 murder of 62-year-old security guard Chan Sau-wa, his former in-law to whom he once owed money, according to Apple Daily.
But despite CCTV footage showing the victim entering and never leaving Ngan’s building in Sham Shui Po, clips showing him carrying several plastic bags and a suitcase from the premises, and blood stains in the flat, the defendant denies killing the victim.
Ngan, who has pleaded not guilty to one count of murder and another count of preventing the lawful burial of a body, insists it wasn’t him, but a friend who committed the crime.
This friend, who he says he only knows as “Ah Hoi”, has never been found. Ngan says he doesn’t remember his full name, or where he lives.
According to the prosecution, CCTV footage shows Chan entering the Sham Shui Po building where Ngan’s apartment is located at 7:48pm on May 1 — the last day she was seen alive.
Two hours after Chan entered the premises, Ngan was seen coming in and out of the building five times between 9pm and 2am, each time leaving with plastic bags, a suitcase, and, on his last trip, a hammer.
The security camera footage also shows Ngan entering the apartment block with a suitcase — newly bought and still wrapped in plastic — one day before the alleged murder took place.
He also called a friend to ask where the nearest garbage disposal site was, the court heard.
The alarm was raised after the victim’s son, Chan Ho-man, called the police saying he last saw his mother on April 30, 2016.
Chan, according to her son, had she said she would come home for dinner, even asking him to prepare food. She never showed up, and he called the police two days later.
Police broke into Ngan’s apartment on May 14 to investigate, and they found the defendant trying to escape through a window into the neighbouring apartment.
After he was subdued, police found blood stains belonging to Chan and Ngan in the bathroom, living room, and bedroom of the apartment.
The prosecution told the court that after his arrest, Ngan claimed Chan was killed in his apartment by a friend of his called “Ah Hoi”, whom he claimed was involved in organ trafficking to the mainland.
He told officers that on the night of the murder, he returned to his home at around 9pm and found Ah Hoi stabbing Chan in the neck with a knife.
He claims Ah Hoi — whom he called a “good friend” — asked him to help dispose of the blood-stained clothes, and then told him to leave. He told police that he went out for a walk, and played mahjong until midnight.
Police could not find Chan’s body, and it is still not clear what the motive for the murder was.
Ngan told police he had known Chan for 20 years, although the two did not contact each other frequently. However, he admitted he had borrowed HK$20,000 (US$2,550) from Chan, but claimed that he had paid her back.
The trial continues.
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