Two Auckland men accused of murdering a beloved couple in Ellerslie are facing a new charge of conspiracy to murder a woman.
The woman, who is not one of the couple and does not share their surname, is listed on court documents as the target of an alleged plot to kill.
The men, one aged in his 20s and another in his 40s, are in custody ahead of their trial for the murders of Fuk-Fu Joseph Kwok and Mei Han Chong on November 5.
They were listed to appear on the new charge of conspiracy to murder in the Auckland District Court before Judge David Sharp on Thursday.
The pair did not appear and were remanded by consent of their lawyers to their next appearance in the Auckland High Court on March 20, where the murder and conspiracy to murder charges will be heard together.
Their lawyers did not enter a plea to the conspiracy to murder charge.
Court documents state they allegedly conspired to murder the woman sometime between June 26 and November 4 last year.
Police said a statement the charge “relates to a separate matter”.
The charge of conspiracy to murder carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
Justice Matthew Downs earlier set a trial date for the double homicide of April 28, 2025, for six weeks.
The 42-year-old man, from Glenfield on the North Shore, was the first to be arrested. He was found by police in Hamilton a few days after they allege he was involved in killing the couple on November 5 at their Ellerslie home in Celtic Cres.
The second man, aged 26, was arrested shortly after at a home in Glenfield. Both were granted interim name suppression and remanded without plea when they appeared via audio-visual link in the Auckland District Court earlier this month.
The younger man is also charged with stealing the couple’s car.
Kwok, 66, was stabbed to death on Sunday, November 5, and a family member found his body at the couple’s home the following Monday evening.
His wife, Mei Han Chong, 67, went missing after the alleged murder, 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. Officers then found her body in a bush area in Greenhithe overnight on Thursday, November 9.
Kwok’s colleagues at North Shore Hospital said he would be deeply missed as a “respected” colleague and “good guy”.
Staff said Kwok worked as a senior orthopaedic nurse there.
Kwok, a theatre nurse, was “a very wise, respected” health worker and a “good guy”, a staff member told the Herald.
Brad Healey, interim group director of operations at Te Whatu Ora-Waitematā, extended condolences to the hospital’s theatre team, who were mourning their “respected colleague”.
“Joseph was a valued and well-liked 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.”