In an Auckland courtroom, a jury of twelve delivered its verdict on one of the city's more troubling recent killings — finding Lok Fung Lorrence Li guilty of murdering a couple in their own home, a crime that began not with rage or passion but with bureaucratic process and a redirected plan. The deaths of Fuk Fu Joseph Kwok and Mei Han Chong in November 2023 were the end point of a conspiracy that had first targeted another man entirely, and that police had been warned about weeks before it claimed two lives. The conviction, reached after four hours of deliberation, closes one chapter — but th
Man found guilty of murdering Auckland couple in 2023 Ellerslie home invasion
Two people murdered: Fuk Fu Joseph Kwok and Mei Han Chong were killed in their home using an air pistol and tomahawk; Chong's body was dumped in Greenhithe.
The address was sent to Li in an email four days before the murders.
Mark
So the jury found him guilty of murder, not manslaughter. What was the difference that mattered?
Mimi
Li had admitted to manslaughter but pleaded not guilty to murder. The Crown had to prove he acted with murderous intent—that he meant to kill them, not just that he caused their deaths.
Luke
And the jury decided that intent was there. But I want to know: what evidence actually showed intent versus just participation in a violent act?
Mimi
The planning was significant. He and Poon had plotted to kill the landlord first, then shifted to the Kwoks. That's premeditation.
Mark
How did they even know where the Kwoks lived?
Mimi
Through a Disputes Tribunal process. Kwok had asked for his address to be kept confidential after a minor traffic accident with Li, but the tribunal refused the request.
Luke
On what grounds?
Mimi
They said there wasn't enough evidence of safety concerns. So the address was sent to Li in an email.
Mark
That's a significant failure in the system.
Mimi
It is. And there's another one. Poon went to police before the murders and reported the plot against the landlord. Police didn't act on it for two months.
Luke
So the warning came in, but nobody connected it to the Kwoks?
Mimi
Not until after they were dead. By then both men were arrested.
Mark
What was Poon's motive for going to police if he was involved?
Mimi
He claimed he was being pressured by Li to participate—that he owed Li seven thousand dollars. But Li's lawyer argued Poon was the real driver of the violence and was just testifying to help his own sentencing.
Luke
So we have one man's word against another's, and the jury sided with the Crown's version.
Mimi
Yes. And they had four weeks of evidence to work through.
Mark
When does Li get sentenced?
Mimi
December.
El Pulso
- A jury deliberated for just four hours before finding Li guilty on all charges, rejecting his manslaughter plea and concluding he acted with murderous intent.
- The Kwoks became targets almost by accident — their home address was handed to Li through a Disputes Tribunal process after Joseph Kwok's request for confidentiality was denied.
- Weeks before the murders, Li's accomplice Shu Man Poon walked into a police station and warned that a conspiracy to make someone 'disappear forever' was underway — but the report sat unreviewed for two months.
- The killings were methodical: the couple were attacked with an air pistol and tomahawk, the scene was cleaned, and Mei Han Chong's body was driven to Auckland's North Shore and abandoned.
- Li's defence attempted to reframe his accomplice Poon as the true architect of the murders, but the jury was unmoved — Li faces sentencing in December.
In an Auckland courtroom, a jury of twelve delivered its verdict on one of the city's more troubling recent killings — finding Lok Fung Lorrence Li guilty of murdering a couple in their own home, a crime that began not with rage or passion but with bureaucratic process and a redirected plan. The deaths of Fuk Fu Joseph Kwok and Mei Han Chong in November 2023 were the end point of a conspiracy that had first targeted another man entirely, and that police had been warned about weeks before it claimed two lives. The conviction, reached after four hours of deliberation, closes one chapter — but the question of what might have been prevented lingers over the proceedings like an unanswered prayer.
Lok Fung Lorrence Li stood motionless as Justice Jane Anderson read the verdicts. After four weeks of testimony and four hours of deliberation, a jury found him guilty on all charges in the murders of Fuk Fu Joseph Kwok and Mei Han Chong, killed in their Ellerslie home in November 2023. Li had admitted to manslaughter but denied murder — a distinction that required the Crown to prove intent. The jury found that intent beyond reasonable doubt.
The Kwoks did not begin as Li's intended victims. He and his accomplice, churchmate Shu Man Poon, had originally plotted to kill Li's former landlord, tracking the property with a GPS device and spray-painting over security cameras before losing their nerve. When that plan collapsed, they turned their attention elsewhere. The Kwoks' address had come to Li through a Disputes Tribunal email — sent four days before the murders — after Joseph Kwok's request to keep his location private was denied on the grounds that no sufficient safety concern had been demonstrated.
On the night of November 5, the two men broke into the Kwoks' home and attacked the couple with an air pistol and a tomahawk. They cleaned the scene afterward. Joseph Kwok's body was found in the house by his son. Mei Han Chong's body was driven to Greenhithe and abandoned in the couple's own car.
What makes the case especially haunting is what came before. Poon had gone to police before the murders and reported the conspiracy — describing a plan to make someone 'disappear forever.' The report was filed away and not reviewed for two months, long after both victims were dead. At trial, Poon testified against Li, claiming he had been coerced into participating to repay a debt. Li's defence counsel argued Poon was the true actor, his testimony shaped by a desire for a lighter sentence. The jury was not persuaded. Li will be sentenced in December.
Lok Fung Lorrence Li stood motionless in the dock as Justice Jane Anderson read the verdicts. After four hours of deliberation, a jury of twelve had found him guilty on all charges in the murders of Fuk Fu Joseph Kwok and Mei Han Chong, an Auckland couple killed in their Ellerslie home in November 2023. Li had entered a plea of not guilty to murder but admitted to manslaughter—a distinction that forced Crown prosecutors to prove he acted with murderous intent. The jury, after four weeks of testimony in the High Court, determined that he had.
The path to the Kwoks' address began with a minor traffic accident nearly a year before their deaths. When the matter reached the Disputes Tribunal, Kwok requested that his home location be kept confidential. The tribunal refused. A police officer involved in the process, Robert Lawrence, later told the court he saw no reason Li should be denied his address simply because Kwok had asked for privacy. The service manager at the tribunal, Glenn Adkin, said the request was rejected due to insufficient evidence of safety concerns. On November 1, 2023—four days before the murders—Kwok's address was sent to Li in an email containing other case documents.
Li had not acted alone. His accomplice was Shu Man Poon, a churchmate who had already pleaded guilty to all charges and testified against him during the trial. The two men had initially plotted to kill Li's former landlord. Days before the Kwoks were murdered, Poon and Li visited the landlord's house, which they had located using a GPS tracker. They spray-painted over the security cameras outside the property. When they spotted another camera, they retreated. After a second failed attempt, the pair abandoned that plan entirely and turned their attention to the Kwoks.
On the night of November 5, Li and Poon broke into the Kwoks' home and attacked the couple with an air pistol and a tomahawk. After the killings, they cleaned the crime scene. Fuk Fu Joseph Kwok's body remained in the house, where it was discovered by their son, Chi-Ho Ricky Kwok. Mei Han Chong's body was placed in the couple's blue Kia car and driven to Greenhithe on Auckland's North Shore, where it was abandoned.
Poon had warned authorities about the murder plot before it reached the Kwoks. He went to police and reported the conspiracy against Li's former landlord, describing a plan to "make them disappear forever." Police filed the report away. It would not be reviewed for two months—long after the Kwoks were dead and both men had been arrested.
During the trial, Poon claimed he had been pressured into participating in both the landlord plot and the Kwok killings to repay a seven-thousand-dollar debt to Li. Li's defence counsel, Paul Dacre KC, rejected this account and pointed the finger back at Poon, suggesting his former accomplice was the primary actor in the murders and that his testimony was motivated by a desire to improve his own sentencing prospects.
Justice Anderson had instructed jurors that they did not need to agree unanimously on which legal pathway led to guilt, only that each juror be certain beyond reasonable doubt that every element of at least one pathway had been proven. The jury found Li guilty on all counts. He will return to court in December for sentencing.
Citas Notables
He didn't ask for Mr Li's address so he didn't see why Mr Li should have his address— Police officer Robert Lawrence, describing the reasoning behind the tribunal's decision to release Kwok's location
You don't have to agree unanimously about which pathway applies. But each of you must be sure that every ingredient of one full pathway is proven beyond reasonable doubt— Justice Jane Anderson, instructing the jury on how to reach a verdict
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