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A University of Hong Kong professor accused of murdering his wife aroused police suspicion after he gave conflicting accounts of the contents of a heavy box that he moved from his apartment after his wife’s disappearance two years ago.
The High Court heard Wednesday that police officers saw Cheung Kie-chung transporting a wooden box to his office using a rented van on August 22, 2018, five days after he allegedly killed Chan Wai-man of 53 years.
The 56-year-old associate professor from HKU’s engineering college initially said that the homemade box contained items for beach activities during the college orientation camp, but later told police that he was storing metal parts for a robotics competition.
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That discrepancy led police to transfer Chan’s missing person case to the Hong Kong Island Regional Criminal Unit, ultimately leading to the discovery of his body in a box at Cheung’s office and his arrest on August 28.
The court was told that the police were unaware of Cheung’s role in the case when officers went to his apartment in the university’s Wei Lun Hall to make inquiries in the early morning of August 21, shortly after he and his daughter Nancy reported Chan missing.
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The next morning, officers went to conduct further investigations on the floor, only to find Cheung in the hallway parking lot moving a bulky wooden box, covered in blue cloth with a stove and microwave oven on top. .
Sheriff Cheung Ka-lun, who witnessed the incident, said the box appeared heavy as the professor pushed it into a cart with great difficulty, panting and covered in sweat.
When asked about the contents of the box, the professor hesitated for a few seconds before saying that it contained beach gear.
That response didn’t sound an alarm with the sheriff until he visited Cheung’s home again two days later, when he discovered that some items were missing from the floor and that the stove was in its original place.
He invited Cheung for an interview at Wan Chai Police Headquarters that afternoon, where the defendant claimed that the box had stored electrical equipment and aluminum bars for use in a robotics competition.
The officer told the court: “It seemed to me that he looked very calm and indifferent, so much so that he did not seem to care about the death of the deceased.”
On August 26, Station Sergeant Cheung Siu-yin called the professor at the police headquarters for an interview and then requested another visit to his home, where he asked the accused, “Where did you hide your wife?”
The professor was said to be silent for about 10 seconds, before replying, “Why do you suspect me?”
The sergeant said that after the professor led officers to a laundry room down the hall, he suddenly leaned against the edge of a wall in an attempt to climb and jump off the building. He later found out that the professor had sent a WhatsApp message to his family, saying in English, “I want to jump.”
After Cheung calmed down, he led the police to his office, where the officers found an unpleasant smell. The sergeant said he could not locate the source of the odor and did not investigate further.
HKU professor charged with murdering his wife ‘not a nice guy’, court hears
But when he and his team returned on August 28, they found that the smell had permeated the entire floor. The professor, who was sitting in his office, claimed that the smell might be from a dead rat.
The sergeant said he noticed Cheung became more anxious when pressed with questions like “Is your wife dead or alive?” and “Where is your wife?”
Officers found the wooden box under a fish tank after a two-hour search. The sergeant asked Cheung what was inside the box, to which the professor replied, “You already found the box. You know what’s inside without me telling you. “
Chan’s body was later found in a suitcase tucked inside the box.
The trial continues before Judge Anthea Pang Po-kam.
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