The Daily Observer London Desk: Reporter- James Richards
Hundreds of mourners attended a funeral on Sunday for a Hong Kong model whose grisly death earlier this year shocked the city, with floral tributes flowing in from loved ones, friends and celebrities alike.
Abby Choi, a 28-year-old mother of four, went missing in late February until parts of her dismembered body were found by police in a rural village house.
The death of the prominent model and influencer, who had made appearances at international fashion shows and commanded significant followings on both Instagram and Douyin – China’s version of Tik Tok – made headlines worldwide.
Friends and loved ones were finally able to bid Choi goodbye some four months after her death at a funeral service that was decked out in her favorite color pink.
Mourners dressed in black lined up outside the Po Fook Memorial Hall in a quiet suburb of Hong Kong just a dozen miles south of where her remains were found.
The entrance was decorated with pink curtains and two images of Choi – posing in a pink dress against a column of balloons in various shades of the same color.
Among those present at the funeral was her husband Chris Tam, whose family founded a popular noodle chain in the city.
Holding the hands of one of their children, Tam, dressed in a suit, arrived at the funeral parlor an hour prior to the Buddhist ceremony.
Floral tributes from various celebrities could be seen being carried by workers into the funeral home, including from Aaron Kwok, a veteran of Hong Kong’s pop music scene in the 1990s.
Actress Adrienne Lau, who attended Choi’s funeral, remembered her as a “great and kind-hearted” friend.
“She loved to help people. She brought joy to everyone around her. We said we will go the next fashion week together but there’s no chance anymore,” she told.
Choi was cremated on Monday with a black hearse embellished with pink flowers ferrying her body to a famous monastery on a nearby island.
Choi’s ex-husband Alex Kwong, 28, his brother Anthony, 31, and their father, Kwong Kau, 65, have been charged with murder over her death. Alex Kwong’s mother Jenny Li, 63, is charged with perverting the course of justice.
The family was denied bail and are currently in jail custody, with the next hearing scheduled on July 31.
Two others have been charged with assisting the ex-husband’s effort to escape, though they have been released on bail.
