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Hong Kong professor accused of murdering wife sparked police suspicions while moving heavy wooden box out of flat, court hears

  • HKU professor Cheung Kie-chung initially said box contained beach activity items, but later told police it stored metal parts for a robotics competition
  • Discrepancy prompted officers to move missing-person case to crime unit, leading to the discovery of wife’s body inside the box

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HKU associate professor Cheung Kie-chung (face covered) is accused of murdering his wife Chan Wai-man. Photo: Dickson Lee

A University of Hong Kong professor accused of murdering his wife aroused police suspicions after he gave conflicting accounts about the contents of a heavy box he moved from his flat following his spouse’s disappearance two years ago.

The High Court heard on Wednesday that police officers spotted Cheung Kie-chung transporting a wooden box to his office using a hired van on August 22, 2018, five days after he allegedly killed 53-year-old Chan Wai-man.

The 56-year-old associate professor at HKU’s engineering faculty initially said the home-made box contained items for beach activities during the university’s orientation camp, but later told police it stored metal parts for a robotics competition.

That discrepancy prompted police to move the missing person case of Chan to the Hong Kong Island regional crime unit, which eventually led to the discovery of her body inside a box in Cheung’s office and his arrest on August 28.

The court was told police had been unaware of Cheung’s role in the case when officers went to his flat at the university’s Wei Lun Hall for inquiries in the early hours of August 21, soon after he and his daughter Nancy reported Chan missing.

The following morning, officers went to conduct further investigations at the flat, only to find Cheung at the hall’s car park moving a bulky wooden box, covered with a blue cloth with a cooking stove and microwave oven on top.

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