Macabre lunchbox plot

http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?we_cat=11&art_id=148094&sid=42755751&con_type=3&d_str=20140806&fc=4

Jasmine Siu Wednesday, August 06, 2014 An elderly couple were dismembered, salted, microwaved and refrigerated by their son and one of his friends, the Court of First Instance heard yesterday.As part of the well-prepared plot, the couple's body parts were to be packaged into lunch boxes and dumped in rubbish bins, it was alleged. Some body parts were dumped into the sea, while others were kept in bags and boxes or frozen in two newly purchased refrigerators at the son's rented flat in Tai Kok Tsui allegedly in an attempt to make the couple "disappear without a trace." The couple's son Henry Chau Hoi- leung, 29, and his friend Angus Tse Chun-ki, 35 - pleaded guilty to preventing the lawful burial of a body but deny murdering Glory Chau Wing- ki, 64, and his wife Moon Siu Yuet-yee, 63, in March last year. At the start of their 17-day trial before deputy High Court judge Michael Stuart-Moore, the court was told that the defendants had offered to plead guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility but that this was rejected by the prosecution. In his opening statement, chief prosecutor Michael Arthur said that extensive preparations began as early as six months before the alleged crime, during which a sum of HK$30,000 to HK$40,000 was spent on purchasing tools and equipment. "The crime was certainly premeditated. Their planning was extensive," Arthur said. The couple were last seen on closed- circuit television entering the building of their younger son's new f lat in Tai Kok Tsui at 11.40am on March 1 last year. The prosecution believed the killings took place shortly after as Chau was seen leaving the building 20 minutes later. The couple were first said to be on a trip to China before their two sons including the defendant reported them missing to police six days later. Their body remains including their heads stored in two separate refrigerators were found on March 15. The defendants were arrested the same day. Chau was said to be responsible for the alleged murder while Tse carried out the dismemberment. Receipts of newly purchased refrigerators, microwave ovens, knives, hammers and bleach were found under the mattresses of Tse's bed. Handwritten notes on body weight and blood data, as well as a list of tools including knives, syringes, plastic bags and gloves were also found. The victim's identities were made known only after DNA tests were conducted. Forensic experts could not ascertain the times and causes of the deaths, but the victims were believed to have been slain with knives. Chau told the police that he and his alleged accomplice shared the same feeling that his parents were "total losers" and that he felt his emotional ties were worsening over the years. "The parents also shared responsibility for what had happened," Chau was quoted as saying. At first, Tse denied his role in the alleged murder but in his seventh interview with police he admitted killing one of his friend's parents. Fifteen witnesses will be called to testify in the case which is being tried before a jury of three males and four females.