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Hong Kong Woman Thought Her Flatmates Were Joking About Murdering Someone. Turns Out They Weren’t.

She overheard them saying that they were going to kill a man for $30 million.
empty apartment
For illustrative purposes only. Photo by Ehud Neuhaus on Unsplash.

A woman in Hong Kong thought her flatmates were joking when they told her about a murder plan that would earn them $30 million. But no one was laughing when she saw a block of cement in their living room that smelled of and seeped out blood.

At least that’s what Ho Ling-yu said in court on Wednesday, Oct. 16 of her experience, the South China Morning Post reported. In exchange for her immunity, the 22-year-old mother testified against her three male flatmates who are linked to the murder of 28-year-old Cheung Man-li, also known as “Ah J.”

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Ah J’s body was found in March 2016 inside a block of cement that was in a unit of an industrial building where the roommates lived in Tsuen Wan, a town in Hong Kong’s Western New Territories.

The three suspects were identified as Tsang Cheung-yan, 29 years old; Keith Lau, 24 years old; and Cheung Sin-hang, 26 years old. They pleaded not guilty to one joint count of murder in March 2016.

On Wednesday and Thursday, Ho told the jury that she moved to the flat because of family and relationship issues. She said she met Tsang during the Occupy protests in 2014 and ended up sharing a bed with him in the flat.

Although she said they didn’t have a physical relationship, she told the jury that Tsang would pay her HK$8,000 ($1,020) to take notes of meetings her flatmates would have, who were allegedly part of an organisation called “There.” On top of that, he would also buy her food and take her shopping. She said Tsang also supported their other two flatmates.

Tsang reportedly had much control over his flatmates. Ho, Lau, and Sin-hang said that Tsang would give them drinks with powders that impacted their judgment.

During meetings, her flatmates would discuss dangerous drugs and other issues, including getting paid $30 million for Ah J’s killing.

“They had never put those discussions into actions,” Ho said. “It’s just like they were joking.”

But when Ho got home on March 4, 2016, she found Tsang and Sin-hang looking at a map. She now claims that the two were looking for a location where they could kill Ah J to rob him.

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That evening, she saw Lau spray chloroform on old underwear. Tsang also told her to stay on another floor because they needed to speak with Ah J about a project.

She was woken up by noises and voices, with one allegedly saying: "Don’t mess around, that will kill.”

When she went to see what happened, Tsang told her Ah J was dead. Ho said she thought he was joking. The next day, she was frightened when she found the block of drying cement that contained Ah J’s body.

When asked in court if she thought of making a police report, Ho responded with: “No, because if they really had killed a person… they could kill another.”

“Tsang Cheung-yan could kill me or my boyfriend or my family members.”

1 USD = 7.84 Hong Kong Dollars

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