Police focus on several crime scenes after killings
Man has been charged with pair’s murders but more arrests possible
Detectives are scouring at least four different crime scenes around Auckland in connection with the alleged double murder of an elderly couple — and while a man has been arrested and charged, police aren’t ruling out further arrests.
Fuk-Fu Joseph Kwok, 66, was stabbed multiple times at his home in the leafy suburb of Ellerslie, likely on Sunday, November 5. A family member found his body on Monday evening.
His wife, Mei Han Chong, 67, went missing after the alleged murder, prompting a 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. Police then found her body in a bush area in Greenhithe overnight on Thursday.
Chong’s body was winched up a steep bank and a post-mortem examination was expected to be completed today.
Police arrested a 42-year-old man, of Glenfield on Auckland’s North Shore, in Hamilton yesterday.
He later appeared in court via audio-visual link from Mt Eden Prison.
Wearing a blue boiler suit, the accused appeared calm, answering Judge Andrea Manuel’s questions in a measured tone.
His lawyer, Michael Kan, said he had spoken to the man, a Cantonese speaker, and believed he did not need an interpreter. The man had been in New Zealand for many years.
Kan sought and was granted interim suppression of his client’s name, saying his mother, in her 90s, and other family members may need to be informed.
“Obviously this will be quite a big shock for them,” Kan said.
Bail was not sought and the accused was remanded in custody without plea before his next appearance in the High Court at Auckland on November 29.
What we know so far
Police responded to a report a man had been found dead at a house on Celtic Cres in Ellerslie at 7.28pm on Monday and appealed for information on the whereabouts of his wife, Mei Han Chong, and the couple’s car.
When the Herald visited the scene, a police marquee was erected on part of the property.
On Tuesday, Detective Inspector Scott Beard said police had begun a homicide inquiry into the killing of the man, who was later revealed as Fuk-Fu Joseph Kwok.
Police had few leads on the circumstances of the alleged murder for three days of their investigations.
Kwok left work about 11pm on Saturday and it usually took him about 90 minutes to get home. The couple’s car hadn’t been seen since then.
On Thursday, Beard said of the incident: “We are keeping an open mind to what happened.
“She could be a suspect or she could be a victim,” he said of Chong.
She was last seen at the family home over the weekend.
Police asked the public for any information or sightings of the couple’s blue Kia Rio.
“This [case] is like a jigsaw. We’re trying to put the pieces together,” Beard said. He described the alleged murder as “quite brutal”, revealing Kwok suffered multiple stab wounds.
“It would appear this is a targeted attack — but we just don’t know why.”
Yesterday, Beard confirmed Chong had been found dead, in a bush area in Greenhithe, overnight.
He said police discovered suspicious activity on the night of the homicide and scoured hours and hours of CCTV footage to find Chong.
“We’re devastated to locate Mrs Chong in these circumstances and are providing support to their son, who has lost both his father and his mother.
“There are uncles and aunties around but at the moment he is an only child,” Beard said, talking of the anguish the son is suffering.
Beard said there was no indication the offender had tried to leave the country, and at this stage police were not ruling out further charges.
The couple’s car was located on Hall Rd in Glenfield, with its number plates changed.
Kwok’s colleagues at North Shore Hospital, where he was a senior orthopaedic nurse, said he would be deeply missed as a “respected” colleague and “good guy”.
Brad Healey, interim group director of operations at Te Whatu Ora — Waitemata¯ extended condolences to the hospital’s theatre team, who were mourning their “respected colleague”.
“Joseph was a valued and wellliked member of our North Shore Hospital family and I would like to acknowledge his exceptional service,” Healey said.
“Our hearts are with those who worked with him.
“They are feeling this loss immensely and we will ensure they are supported through this period.”