Ellerslie homicide police stand-up.
Video / NZHerald
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 weekslonger because his lawyer indicated he might fight the decision through the Court of Appeal.
However, it was revealed in the High Court at Auckland today 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 Sunday, 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.
Mei Han Chong and Fuk-Fu Joseph Kwok. Both men accused of their murders have now been revealed as Lok Fung Lorrence Li and Shu Man Poon. Photo / NZ Police
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 overnight on Thursday, November 9.
Kwok’s colleagues at North Shore Hospital, where he worked as a senior orthopaedic theatre nurse, said he would be deeply missed as a “respected” colleague and “good guy”.
Police laid a new charge against co-defendants Li and Poon in February. It involves an alleged conspiracy to murder a third person, a woman unrelated to Kwok and Chong.
That alleged plot took place sometime between June 26 and November 4 last year, other court documents state. A police statement said the charge “relates to a separate matter”.
Shu Man Poon appears via audio-visual link in Auckland District Court after he was charged with the murders of Fuk-Fu Joesph Kwok and his wife Mei Han Chong at their Ellerslie home. Photo / Jason Oxenham
During today’s brief High Court hearing, Justice Geoffrey Venning joindered the murder and the conspiracy allegations so that they could be heard together at the same trial, currently scheduled for next April.
Not guilty pleas to the conspiracy to murder charges were entered through counsel.
If convicted of conspiracy to murder, the defendants could face a sentence of up to 10 years’ imprisonment. Murder convictions carry a life sentence.
Craig Kapitan is an Auckland-based journalist covering courts and justice. He joined the Herald in 2021 and has reported on courts since 2002 in three newsrooms in the US and New Zealand.
George Block is an Auckland-based reporter with a focus on police, the courts, prisons and defence. He joined the Heraldin 2022 and has previously worked at Stuff in Auckland and the Otago Daily Times in Dunedin.
