On Tuesday, member of the University of Hong Kong's governing council has been arrested for murdering his wife. Her body was found in a suitcase in his office.
Police did not reveal the identity of the academic, but sources recognized him as associate professor Cheung Kie-chung from HKU's department of mechanical engineering.
As per South China Morning Post, the man was arrested as the body of his 52-year-old wife was found in his office in the Haking Wong Building at HKU's Pokfulam Road campus in the afternoon. But, the identity of the victim still needed to be confirmed by an autopsy, said Superintendent Law Kwok-hoi of the Hong Kong Island crime squad.
The neck of the victim was tied with electric wire, and she was found only in her underwear. Some suggested that she was probably strangled to death. Law said the time and cause of death of the victim had not yet determined. However, according to some sources, an initial examination revealed she had been dead for several days, with no other apparent wounds on her body.
On August 20, Cheung reported his wife has been missing. He told the police that she left their home at Wei Lun Hall - one of the residential halls on campus - on Sassoon Road. The location is only about four minute-car drive on his office.
His daughter had posted fliers around Pok Fu Lam to identify her mother has been missing. The fliers recognized her as Tina Chan and described her as being of medium build with mid-length hair.
Police became suspicious at Cheung after CCTV footage showed him moving a wooden box out of the building. There was also no footage of his wife leaving the premises.
The police raided the office of the professor on Tuesday afternoon where they found a wooden box, containing a suitcase with a body. Cheung was immediately arrested as he was in his office at the time of the raid. He was being held for questioning on Tuesday night and had not been charged.
"There was blood seeping out of the suitcase, and it stank," Law said.
As per the investigators, Cheung likely killed his wife at their home. Initial investigation showed the two had quarreled over "mainly trivial matters."
Cheung's wife and their daughter reportedly had an argument about toilet hygiene on August 26. After that, their daughter left home, and his wife blamed him for not supporting her during the earlier argument, after which Cheung said she had gone missing.
Cheung was known to be an outspoken advocate of academic freedom. In 2016, he was re-elected to the university's governing council was widely welcomed. He was due to leave the post in December.
