15th September 2022 – (Hong Kong) A middle-aged man was killed after being kidnapped by gangsters earlier in Ta Kwu Ling, and his body was reportedly buried on a hillside in Ping Yeung Village. This morning (15th) a large number of police officers searched the site for the body of the victim and found. In addition, the police arrested two suspects involved in the case in a restaurant at Luen Wo Hui in Fanling yesterday morning (14th). Since the early hours of this morning, a large number of police have been investigating at the crime scene and took away several bags of evidence.
It is understood that the victim surnamed Cheung was reported to be a businessman. He loved football, and participated in a football team organised by the local community. His friend who also went to Ping Yeung Village to learn about the situation yesterday revealed that the victim was suspected to accumulate a gambling debt of more than HK$3 million.
The victim disappeared about 10 days ago on 5th September, and his wife filed a police report on the 6th of this month. After receiving the report, the police identified a suspect. Police found that the target man had frequented a restaurant in Luen Wo Hui, Fanling in recent months, and also frequently drove a Mercedes private car to and from Luen Wo Hui. Officers went to the restaurant a week ago to investigate and requested to inspect the CCTV footage but the staff pointed out that the request had to be decided by the company. Until 10am yesterday, the officers went to the restaurant and arrested the target man on the spot. He was suspected to be the kidnapper, and officers took him away. The police then searched the Mercedes private car driven by the arrested person on Wo Fung Street before towing it away. The arrested person was believed to be a loan shark.
After the police learned the victim’s location, they dug up the victim’s body which was buried in the ground 30 centimetres deep, covered by a layer of cement, with sand and mud on top. The forensic doctor’s preliminary examination confirmed that the victim’s head hands including eyes, ears, mouth and nose were bound with tape. There was a wound on his left chest that was stabbed by a hard object. The time of his death was about 8 to 10 days. The murder weapon has not yet been seized. The police believe that the victim was brought to Kwan Tai Temple to negotiate the debt on the day of his disappearance. During the period, he was attacked and killed with a sharp weapon, and his body was buried. After the incident, the suspects took this opportunity to extort money from the victim’s family.
The two suspects have been charged with one count of murder. The case will appear Fanling Magistrates’ Court tomorrow (16th). The suspects reported that they were unemployed. One of the suspects was a friend of the deceased. The murder weapon was believed to be a sharp weapon, and some of the debts involved gambling debts.
At about 1pm today, personnel from the government laboratory arrived at the scene to search for evidence, and several relatives and friends of the victim attended the scene. Among them, the younger brother of the deceased was sitting on the roadside sadly. By 4pm, workers arrived at the scene and took the victim’s body to the mortuary. About an hour later, the police escorted the first suspect to Wo Fung Street, Luen Wo Hui and got off the car opposite a restaurant to re-construct the case. He pointed to a arcade centre, stayed for about 5 minutes before leaving. Later, the second suspect was also taken to the same location. At nearly 7pm, one of the suspects was taken to the burial site. The police used a prop “doll” and a paper knife to help re-construct the case.