() — Hundreds of people attended the funeral of a Hong Kong model on Sunday, whose grisly death earlier this year shocked the city. At the farewell there was no shortage of floral offerings from loved ones, friends and celebrities.
Abby Choi, a 28-year-old mother of four, disappeared in late February until police found parts of her dismembered body in a house in a rural town.
The death of the prominent model and influencer, who had made appearances at international fashion shows and had a significant following on both Instagram and Douyin – the Chinese version of TikTok – made headlines around the world.
Four months after his death, friends and loved ones were able to say goodbye to Choi at a funeral decked out in his favorite colour, pink.
Hundreds of people dressed in black lined up at Po Fook Memorial Hall in a quiet Hong Kong suburb, just a dozen kilometers south of where his remains were found.
The entrance was decorated with pink curtains and two images of Choi, posing in a pink dress in front of a column of pink balloons.
Among those in attendance at the funeral was her late husband, Chris Tam, whose family founded a popular noodle chain in the city.
Hand in hand with one of his sons, Tam, dressed in a suit, arrived at the wake an hour before the Buddhist ceremony to say goodbye to his wife.
Funeral home workers brought wreaths from various celebrities, including Aaron Kwok, a veteran of Hong Kong’s pop music scene in the 1990s.
Choi was cremated Monday, and a black hearse festooned with pink flowers carried her body to a famous monastery on a nearby island.
Choi’s ex-husband, Alex Kwong, 28; his brother Anthony, 31, and their father Kwong Kau, 65, have been charged with murder for his death. Alex Kwong’s mother, Jenny Li, 63, is charged with obstructing the course of justice.
The family was denied bail and is currently in pretrial detention; the next hearing is scheduled for July 31.
Two other people have been accused of helping the ex-husband in his escape attempt, although they have been released on bail.
Pretrial reporting restrictions are in effect.