Second named in murders
Another man accused of participating in the murder of Ellerslie couple Fuk-Fu Joseph Kwok and Mei Han Chong last year can now be named.
Greenhithe resident Lok Fung Lorrence Li, 26, lost his continuing name suppression bid last month but was allowed to keep it a few weeks longer because his lawyer indicated he might fight the decision through the Court of Appeal.
However, it was revealed in the High Court at Auckland yesterday that he has decided not to appeal after all.
Co-defendant Shu Man Poon, a 42-year-old waiter from Glenfield, was named last month after Justice Christine Gordon issued a single judgment rejecting name suppression until trial for both men. Poon had not indicated an intention to appeal so was named immediately.
Both men earlier pleaded not guilty to murdering the couple on November 5 at their Ellerslie home in Celtic Cres.
Most of Justice Gordon’s written decision is suppressed aside from the result, and the fact Poon’s failed bid for continuing suppression related to concerns about the health of his mother.
Poon was found by police in Hamilton a few days after the couple died, and Li — also charged with stealing the couple’s car — was arrested shortly after at a home in Glenfield.
A family member found Kwok, 66, stabbed to death inside the couple’s home one day after he is believed to have died. His wife, 67, was declared missing after the grisly discovery, prompting a massive police search for her and the couple’s car. Police initially said Chong could have been either a suspect or a victim.
Police later revealed Chong didn’t drive, and evidence inside the couple’s home suggested she didn’t leave of her own accord, authorities said. Officers then found her body in a bush area in Greenhithe on November 9.
Police laid a new charge against Li and Poon in February. It involves an alleged conspiracy to murder a third person, a woman unrelated to Kwok and Chong.