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Abby Choi’s ex-mother-in-law urged delay in calling police until ransom from ‘kidnappers’

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Wong, B. (2026, October 14). Abby Choi’s ex-mother-in-law urged delay in calling police until ransom from ‘kidnappers’. South China Morning Post. https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3370842/abby-chois-ex-mother-law-urged-delay-calling-police-until-ransom-kidnappers?utm_source=rss_feed

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

South China Morning Post · collected 2026-10-14 · by Brian Wong

Quick Summary

Chris Tam, the partner of missing Hong Kong socialite Abby Choi, testified in court that Choi’s ex-mother-in-law, Jenny Li Sui-heung, suggested waiting for ransom demands before contacting the police. Li advised Tam not to report Choi's disappearance immediately, implying it was a kidnapping and that contacting the police would hinder potential negotiations with kidnappers for money. This testimony emerged during the second day of hearings at Hong Kong’s High Court.
Written by AI on 2026-10-14, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Chris Tam Fong-chun, the partner of slain Hong Kong socialite Abby Choi Tin-fung, testified in the High Court on Wednesday that Jenny Li Sui-heung, Choi’s ex-mother-in-law, urged him to delay reporting her disappearance to the police. Li suggested waiting for “kidnappers” to contact them and make demands before alerting authorities, implying they might be seeking ransom money. Tam reported that Li told him: “Maybe they just want money. They still haven’t called you. If you report to police now, how can they extort money from you?” This testimony is part of the ongoing investigation into Choi’s disappearance and subsequent death.

Written for “Abby Choi Kidnapping Case” on 2026-11-04, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Abby Choi Kidnapping Case
Crime & Law · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
South China Morning Post
Hedges 1 of 3 claims Outlet record 62/100
“While both articles are about different aspects of the Abby Choi murder trial, they describe distinct events within the trial.”
South China Morning Post
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 1 of 4 claims Outlet record 62/100
“The articles describe different parts of a larger court proceeding, involving statements made by Choi's partner about both ex-father-in-law and ex-mother-in-law on separate days.”
South China Morning Post
Hedges 1 of 7 claims Outlet record 62/100
“While both articles discuss aspects of Abby Choi's case, they describe different events: one covers the murder trial of Choi's ex-husband and his brother, while the other focuses on testimony about Choi's disappearance and her ex-mother-in-law's actions.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
6
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 6 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
62/100
South China Morning Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Crime & Law
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-14 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

South China Morning Post · 3740 article(s) · 8 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 8 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Brian Wong
26 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Chin said Choi would usually carry a substantial amount of cash in her handbag when she went out, but appeared to have insufficient cash from February to the middle of 2022.
🔮 Abby Choi’s partner tells court her ex-father-in-law helped resolve his HK$5m debt Slain Hong Kong socialite’s partner says he refused to repay gambling loan, expecting lender to fold, and her ex-father-in-law got no reward for his help Slain Hong Kong socialite Abby Choi Tin-fung’s partner has acknowledged that her former father-in-law helped resolve a dispute over his HK$5 million gambling debt but maintained he was not obliged to repay it because he believed the company he owed would fold. Chris Tam Fong-chun told the High Court on Thursday that he had refused to repay a loan he took out while gambling at a casino run by Suncity Group in August 2021, saying he thought it would be foolish to pay a company that was about to cease operations. Once Macau’s largest junket operator, the company ended its travel business after its founder, Alvin Chau Cheok-wa, was arrested on charges of illegal gambling and money laundering.
🔮 “Li Sui-heung said to me: ‘Maybe they just want money.
🔮 Testifying for the first time in the High Court, Tam also said Choi had given his family a false impression that her former in-laws were leading a good life, because she feared her two children from her previous marriage would be disparaged in their new home due to their background.
🔮 Legal arguments delay trial over murder of Hong Kong socialite Abby Choi again The nine-member jury has been told to return on Monday as lawyers debated legal issues, delaying cross-examination of Choi’s mother The murder trial of Hong Kong socialite Abby Choi Tin-fung has been delayed again while the court addresses legal issues raised by lawyers in the high-profile case. Deputy High Court Judge Brian Keith told the nine-member jury on Friday that the hearing would resume on Monday, once the legal arguments had concluded.
🔮 Abby Choi’s ex-father-in-law a ‘cunning old fox’ who clung to her wealth, court told Socialite’s mother Cheung Yin-fa rejects defence claims that Kwong Kau could afford luxury items, saying he relied on her daughter’s financial support The mother of slain Hong Kong socialite Abby Choi Tin-fung has described her daughter’s former father-in-law as a “cunning old fox” who clung to her family’s fortune, rejecting his lawyer’s suggestion that he bought a Rolls-Royce with money earned from business activities after his retirement.
🔮 The case will be heard again on November 25.
🔮 High Court discharges jury in Abby Choi murder trial over sick juror, causing delay Judge Brian Keith says court cannot simply replace outgoing juror, according to legal precedent, and new jury will be empanelled on Wednesday The High Court has discharged a recently empanelled jury from the murder trial of slain Hong Kong socialite Abby Choi Tin-fung’s former relatives after one member asked to be excused for health reasons, leading to a delay in proceedings.
🔮 Actress accused of breaching contract by dyeing her hair without consent and accepting outside engagements Former Hong Kong television actress Leila Tong Ning has been sued for allegedly breaching her management contract by abandoning her professional duties while suffering from depression and dyeing her hair without her agency’s consent. The High Court writ, filed by agency Tenjinmura Ongaku Limited, also accuses the 44-year-old former Television Broadcasts (TVB) artist of “coercive conduct” and accepting commercial engagements without the company’s approval after their relationship broke down in May 2024.
🔮 But the High Court heard that the actual number of offences could be much higher.
Also by Brian Wong
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 26 articles by Brian Wong →

Topics

Hong Kong the High Court

Subjects

Choi PERSON · 2× Hong Kong GPE · 2× Jenny Li Sui-heung PERSON · 2× Abby Choi Tin-fung PERSON · 1× Abby Choi’s PERSON · 1× Chris Tam PERSON · 1× Chris Tam Fong-chun PERSON · 1× Li Sui-heung PERSON · 1× Tam PERSON · 1× the High Court ORG · 1×

Narrative

Choi’s partner, Chris Tam Fong-chun, told the High Court on Wednesday that Jenny Li Sui-heung had tried to paint the influencer’s disappearance as an abduction, saying he should delay calling police until after the perpetrators contacted him.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-14
🔮 “Li Sui-heung said to me: ‘Maybe they just want money.

Claims (6 extracted, 0 hedged)

Abby Choi’s ex-mother-in-law urged delay in calling police until ransom from ‘kidnappers’ Choi’s partner, Chris Tam, tells Hong Kong High Court that Jenny Li Sui-heung tried to paint the model’s disappearance as an abduction asserted
heung → urge → abduction
The former mother-in-law of slain Hong Kong socialite Abby Choi Tin-fung tried to prevent her family from reporting her disappearance to police by suggesting that they wait for her “kidnappers” to issue their demands, a court has heard. asserted
court → slay → demands
Choi’s partner, Chris Tam Fong-chun, told the High Court on Wednesday that Jenny Li Sui-heung had tried to paint the influencer’s disappearance as an abduction, saying he should delay calling police until after the perpetrators contacted him. asserted
perpetrators → tell → him
“Li Sui-heung said to me: ‘Maybe they just want money. asserted
they → say → money
They still haven’t called you. asserted
They → call → you
If you report to police now, how can they extort money from you?’” Tam said on the second day of his testimony. asserted
Tam → report → testimony
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