Ellerslie homicide police stand-up.
Video / NZHerald
A second man charged with murdering Ellerslie couple Fuk-Fu Joseph Kwok and Mei Han Chong at their home on November 5 has appeared in court, and will keep his name secret for now.
The man appeared in person before a Justice of the Peace in the Auckland District Court thismorning jointly charged with two counts of murder and one count of unlawfully taking a vehicle.
He was wearing a white boiler suit with his head bowed and his hands by his side.
His lawyer Mark Edgar sought and was granted interim suppression of the man’s name.
Justice Susan Walker granted the man suppression of name, address, family details and occupation.
The man was charged with two counts of murder, and police detective inspector Scott Beard says police are not looking for anyone else in relation to the investigation.
“While arrests have been made, there are still a number of inquiries yet to be completed,” Beard said.
”We can advise the scene examination has now been completed at the Greenhithe area where Ms Chong was located.”
An autopsy on Chong’s body is due to be carried out today.
“Police are continuing to provide support to the family at the centre of this tragic incident,” Beard said.
A scene investigation in Kereru Grove in Auckland's Greenhithe was conducted yesterday. Photo / Jason Dorday
Detectives had yesterday been scouring at least four crime scenes around Auckland in connection with the alleged murders.
A scene guard remains at the couple’s Ellerslie home.
Kwok, 66, was stabbed multiple times, allegedly on Sunday, November 5, and a family member found his body the following 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.
Dead man’s colleagues remember him as ‘good guy’
Kwok, 66, was stabbed multiple times at his home in Ellerslie, allegedly on Sunday, November 5, and a family member found his body the following Monday evening.
Staff said Fuk-Fu Joseph 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”.
