“The police investigation has been fast-moving and led us to numerous scenes across a large part of Auckland. In recent days, police have executed search warrants at a number of addresses and seized two vehicles we believe are linked to the murders.”
Fuk-Fu Joseph Kwok (right), Mei Han Chong and their son, seen here in one of the photos the couple's family have released to police. Photo / NZ Police
Beard said police had been scouring CCTV footage which had helped to identify the suspicious activity of a vehicle and two people at and around the scene in Celtic Crescent, Ellerslie between 1.08am and 3.47am on Sunday, November 5, including the couple’s car leaving the address at 3.47am.
“We still want to hear from anyone who saw suspicious activity or the victims’ blue Kia Rio car around Kererū Grove in Greenhithe or Hall Road in Glenfield any time between the early hours of Sunday, November 5 and Thursday, November 9.”
When police found the family car abandoned, it was displaying different number plates starting with the letters MDM.
“If this registers with you, or you have CCTV footage of a blue Kia Rio displaying these plates in [the] timeframe mentioned, please contact us.”
Almost a week after Kwok was believed to have been murdered, Beard confirmed the scene examination remains ongoing at the Ellerslie residence.
Beard thanked the members of the public who have assisted police and encouraged more to step forward.
Fuk-Fu Joseph Kwok and Mei Han Chong’s lives
The couple began their life in New Zealand in 1988 after moving from Hong Kong, police said.
Both had large families which they cared for and supported. Two of Kwok’s five siblings are in New Zealand, and Chong’s six siblings live abroad.
The pair both worked in healthcare services for most of their lives.
Chong is remembered as a supportive mother to her and Kwok’s son – their only child – and a loving wife. This included supporting her son when he, too, began a career in medicine.
Kwok was happy in his own world and cared about supporting his family and doing a good job in his chosen profession.
“Joseph and Mei were a loving couple whose careers involved helping other people,” Beard said.
On Friday night, police arrested a second man in relation to both murders. Photo / NZ Police
The second arrest follows the earlier arrest of a 42-year-old man, who appeared via an audio-visual link in court yesterday when he was granted interim name suppression. He, too, is from Glenfield, but was arrested in Hamilton on Thursday night.
He wore a blue boiler suit and appeared calm, answering the judge’s questions in a measured tone from the Auckland Custody Unit in Mt Eden prison.
He was remanded in custody without plea for his next appearance in the High Court at Auckland on November 29.
An autopsy on Mei Han Chong’s body revealed she died from blunt force injuries to her head. Photo / NZ Police
