Warning: The story includes descriptions of Readers may be disturbed by violence.
Hong Kong
The Sunday Review
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This postcard picture of Hong Kong It is 1. of Glitzy skyscrapers against green mountains. Dim sum restaurants and Investment bankers in suits.
However in These are the most recent weeks the International financial hub again in the Headlines for something more sinister the death of Modell and influencer Abby Choi was dismembered and found alongside a meat slicer and Electric saw in Last month, a rental unit.
It death of the 28-year-old Mother It has also horrified cities regularly ranked among the worst. of the world’s safest, but gripped much of the world’s media with the Grauly Details of Her alleged murder.
Find out more Hong The Kongers have also been reliving painful memories of Previous cases of dismemberment in the city – many targeting young women and Nearly all were perpetrated in men.
There’s the so-called “Hello Kitty” Murder of 1999: Fan Man Yaee (23 years old) was taken hostage by gangsters and For a month, she was brutally tortured before being released. death and dismemberment. Finally, her skull was found inside a Hello Kitty plush doll.
They were the Four women the The youngest victim was only 17 years of age, and the taxi driver kept their body fragments. in Jars prior to his arrest in 1982. Wong Kamui was 16 years old, and was finally strangled. and Dismembered in 2008 and Her remains were flushed down the toilet.
Und in 2013. Glory Chau and Moon Siu were murdered and Their 28-year old son dismembered them, a crime that was described by the Judge as “evil” and “absolutely hideous.”
Reams of Every murder received headlines. However, this is not the end of the story. the Media attention is paid to experts who point out these cases are extremely rare in Hong KongThe city of?, an Extremely low Rate of It is the leading cause of violent crime in its country of 7.4 million.
Hong Kong Only a handful of homicides are reported each year in comparison to the other tens of thousands. several hundred in New York. It was recorded just 77 robberies last year – compared to more than 17,000 in New York and 24,000 in London.
Why? the huge interest in These are the cases that have been mentioned. Experts say their rarity and brutality is only one of the factors.
However, there could be something else at play. It may just be hidden beneath everything the The grim facts of death This is an unusual insight into life in One of the world’s most densely populated cities.
Roderic Broadhurst an emeritus professor of The Australian National University has previously hosted criminology in Hong KongWhere he was born? the Hong Kong Centre for Criminology estimates there have been about a dozen dismemberment cas in the Over the city the The past 50 years.
Philip Beh, semi-retired forensic pathologist who worked previously with the Hong Kong Police gave an even lower estimate and said he couldn’t recall more than 10 cases. in His career lasted 40 years.
Both experts stressed the importance of this. Hong Kong It is very secure. and However, these figures are still relatively small. Indeed, Hong Kong’s reputation for safety meant the Few cases, however, left an impact on the lives of others. “imprint” the Broadhurst stated that the city is his.
However, both are also recommended the Gruesome Nature of these past cases – in particular, the dismembering of limbs – reflect the Realism of life in Hong Kong.
It is more difficult to conceal a body. in the A tightly packed city is home to small apartments and Some of the world’s most densely populated neighborhoods.
A person trying to get rid of something of A body in Rural areas of Australia, Canada or the United States “a very good chance of getting away with it,” Thanks to the There is plenty of room and Beh spoke of open ground.
But not so in Hong Kong.
“These are essentially people who are trying to get away with a crime, but failing to do so,” Beh.
A killer in Hong Kong Most people will only live within 5 feet of their house. of dozens of People who are able to spot them will attempt to dispose of them of a corpse – Some even break down victims to make them easier for their disposal.
“Most people live in apartment blocks on top of each other. We don’t have individuals with houses and gardens where you can go out and dig a hole and try to bury a body,” Beh. “You’re never really alone; your neighbors are above you, below you, next to you. Anything out of the ordinary will catch someone’s attention.”
Broadhurst agreed and pointed out that in Apartment buildings that a killer might need to enter an Elevator shared with more than 100 households to travel outside.
Several previous cases have involved killers who cooked or boiled body parts – details that have horrified the public, and Most likely, fueled by unsubstantiated stories surrounding cases such as the 1985 “pork bun murders” in Macao is the neighbor. One man murdered a family of 10 the Owners of Restaurant and – as the Urban legendand the movie it inspired) goes – supposedly served them up in buns.
But the Understanding is far simpler than explanation in Beh claimed that the vast majority of cases were in good faith.
Hong Kong’s subtropical, humid climate, “the smell of the body very quickly captures attention,” he said – hence why some murderers might attempt to remove the Cooking dismembered sections can give off a strong smell.
As for why these killers didn’t use methods commonly seen in other countries – keeping the The body in the Freezing and dumping in the water late at night – Hong Kong’s density poses yet another difficulty.
Apartments in the notoriously high-priced housing market are too small. and It is difficult to store large kitchen appliances or furniture in cramped spaces.
“Very few individuals have large refrigerators at home,” Beh. “Even fewer have freezers. You can’t even keep the body if you wanted to.”
He said, “He added…” the same scarcity applies to cars – and Thus the same difficulty in Transporting your body discreetly
Few residents own vehicles since buildings with places to park are at a premium – in 2019, a parking space sold for nearly $1 million dollars, a record – and the The city is an Nevertheless, there is a vast and efficient system of public transportation.
Combining these factors can explain many cases. the years where killers used bizarre, grotesque methods to deal with their victims’ bodies – such as the Woman murdered by husband in 2018 and She was given a body to keep. in You can use a suitcase to transport your belongings. the A 28-year old man was discovered dead in his home. in a block of cement in 2016.
“We live in a place where essentially, if you have killed someone, your next very pressing question is: What do you do with the body?” Beh.
“There are very few options.”
