JULIE CHU
JULIE.CHU@SCMP.COM
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 19 August, 2015, 2:02pm
UPDATED : Wednesday, 19 August, 2015, 3:36pm
Ivan Chan was found guilty of murdering his mistress, Chun Ka-yee. Photo: SCMP Pictures
A securities company director has been given a life sentence after he was found guilty of killing his nightclub hostess mistress, whose body was never found.
A seven-person High Court jury spent less then three hours to convict Ivan Chan Man-sum, 42, on one count of murder over the death of Chun Ka-yee, 33, at her flat in Amoy Gardens on October 6, 2011.
Chan was calm as he heard the jury’s decision.
Deputy Judge Michael Stuart-Moore said the case had “no motive, no body and no weapon”.
He praised the way the police had carried out their investigation, noting that the estate’s security system had been of great help.
The prosecution relied heavily on circumstantial evidence to prove Chan’s guilt.
The court was told Chun was last seen entering the building on October 5, 2011 and was never seen leaving.
Some of her friends tried unsuccessfully to contact Chun later that month. They called Chan – Chun’s boyfriend – but Chan claimed he last saw her on October 2. He also told her friends that he had broken up with her and thought she was going out to have fun.
Chan also asked Chun’s friends not to mention his name to the police as he did not want his wife to know he was still in contact with his mistress.
One of her friends wanted to report the case to the police, but was told that only family members could make a missing person report.
Her friends finally contacted Chun’s brother, who came from Sichuan in January 2012 and made a formal report.
The police searched CCTV footage from Amoy Gardens and found that Chan entered the building on the evening of October 6, 2011.
He came back to the building the next morning and left with a bulky nylon bag.
A few days later, Chan ordered a decoration worker to clear the flat, which was left empty until the police arrived to investigate in March 2012.
Chan admitted he started an affair with Chun in 2008 and bought the Amoy Gardens flat for her in 2009.
However, his wife discovered his relationship with Chun in May 2011.
The court heard that Chan and Chun had a normal telephone conversation on the afternoon of October 6 and they agreed to meet at her flat that night.
Chan said in his defence that he went to the flat to clear out his belongings.
He said he visited the following day with a nylon bag to take away his clothes, some bottles of red wine and some documents.
He claimed he took the nylon bag home and asked his domestic helper to sort out his belongings. But the helper was no longer working for him at the time.
He claimed he asked the decoration worker to empty the flat quickly as he wanted to show his wife that he had broken off his relationship with Chun.
But CCTV footage showed that Chan’s wife never went to the building.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1850782/hong-kong-securities-company-director-given-life-sentence
