Chris Tam's father testifies at Abby Choi murder hearing

The hearing on Abby Choi's murder case continues at the High Court, with Choi's husband Chris Tam completing his testimony.

The prosecution then summoned Tam's father Tam Chuk-kwan who testified that Choi's former father-in-law Kwong Kau earlier sought his help to pay for his attorney's fees -- a request his lawyer told him to ignore.

On the 18th day of the hearing, Abby Choi's husband Chris Tam continued to provide his testimony at the High Court.

During the hearing, Prosecutor Charlotte Draycott displayed the transcript of a voice message between Tam and Choi dated to February 21, 2023, the day of Choi's death.

In the message, Choi told Tam she wanted to tell him later about how cunning her former brother-in-law Anthony Kwong (Damon) was, further saying "these people" are wicked.

Tam said he did not know what Choi meant by that statement, adding he was shocked since the latter never described Anthony Kwong in such a negative way.

Draycott then asked who Choi meant by "these people", to which Tam said the Kwong family.

Tam also noted after the dispute between Choi and the Kwongs at their Kadoorie Hill residence, the former wanted to maintain a surface-level friendship with her ex-husband Alex Kwong in hopes of resuming control over the property.

He described the pair no longer had the same relationship, emphasising he meant their friendship.

The prosecution then summoned Tam's father Tam Chuk-kwan after he completed his testimony.

The senior Tam said he would provide Choi with a monthly allowance of between 200,000 to 250,000 dollars, adding he also gave her at least 80 million dollars for investment purposes.

He said he gave the money to Choi since he believed his son was less mature than her, and remembered she had decent financial literacy.

The senior Tam recalled that in January 2022, he was approached by five thugs at a parking lot in Kwai Chung, with the latter claiming that Choi owed them 5 million dollars.

He later questioned his son and Choi about the incident, with the pair saying they believed they did not have to repay their gambling debts after the closure of the Suncity casino.

The senior Tam, however, believed the debt must be paid.

He noted Choi had mentioned Kwong Kau's former profession as a police officer, and sought for his help in the matter.

Kwong Kau then told him the debt and attorney fees should be transferred to a relevant bank account, later demanding a further 300,000 dollars as well as 150,000 dollars for his "brothers."

In total, the senior Tam had to pay Kwong Kau around 6 million dollars.

The former said Kwong Kau wanted to borrow money from him at the end of 2022, but was warned by Choi not to do so after calling Kwong untrustworthy.

Tam, recalling Kwong's assistance in the past, lent Kwong 250,000 dollars, but was never repaid.

After Choi went missing, Kwong Kau asked the senior Tam via a law firm to help pay for his attorney's fees, saying "we are good friends, and I'm a decent person."

Tam was then told by his lawyer to ignore Kwong.