HK man suspected of murdering ex-girlfriend says she cheated on him & that he spent S$162,000 on her during relationship

The Hong Kong man on trial for the murder of his former girlfriend, yoga instructor Aqua Chow, told the High Court on Nov. 9 that she was unfaithful to him and that he spent nearly HK$1 million (about S$160,000) on her during their relationship, according to HK01. Alex Lo Chun Ming, who was 28 when charged, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Chow, then 23, whose body was found in the bathtub of a Ritz-Carlton hotel room in Tsim Sha Tsui in June 2022. The prosecution has argued that the killing was premeditated. She was found with more than 40 knife wounds to her face, neck, torso and limbs. Lo Chun Ming was arrested, with his trial ongoing since Nov. 2, 2026. He pleaded not guilty to murder. Lo would take the stand on Nov. 9 to give his account. Infidelity During Lo's trial, he claimed that Chow had been unfaithful and was speaking to other men, according to HK01. Lo told the court that in mid-April 2021, while he and Chow were taking a bath together, they had forgotten to bring a bath bomb with them. When he went to retrieve it, he saw a notification on Chow's phone from a man known as Darren, who was looking for her. He decided to confront her about the matter. She explained that she met Darren in October 2020, a month before she met Lo. Darren had to go to the U.S. but had later come back to Hong Kong. Lo claimed that the two had a close relationship, called each other intimate nicknames, and that Chow had even admitted that there was "something going on" between them. Lo then left the house for two days to cool off. Chow afterwards promised him that she would not contact Darren again and suggested that he could download a tracking app, presumably to locate her whereabouts. She also proposed that they could get engaged. When Lo countered that there was no legal engagement in Hong Kong, Chow allegedly told him that he could buy her a ring and download a certificate online. Claims Lo further claimed that he had spent considerable sums of money on Chow during their relationship. Chow, who was a yoga instructor, reportedly wanted to take yoga courses and asked Lo to help pay the HK$30,000 (S$4,890) fee. He took out a loan of more than HK$200,000 (S$32,600) from the bank, bought a ring worth HK$120,000 (S$19,560), paid for the yoga course fees, and gave her more than HK$500,000 (S$81,500) in cash. He further claimed that she was unemployed and asked him for money, even though his monthly income at the time was only about HK$30,000 (S$4,890). The court was presented with Lo's credit card statements, which showed that he had brought her to the Four Seasons Hotel to celebrate her birthday, and on a different day, bought her gifts worth over HK$20,000 (S$3,260). The defence lawyer asked him what would have happened if he had refused to buy the items. Lo replied, "She didn't explicitly say that I had to buy it, but if I didn't, she'd ask to break up." Trial continues In early May 2021, Lo said he discovered that Chow was in contact with Darren again. Though Lo said she apologised, and they reconciled, he claimed to have later found out that she had celebrated Darren's birthday. Enraged, he cancelled the prepayment for Chow's yoga classes. On Chow's birthday, he checked her phone again and discovered that she had spent a night with Darren at a hotel. He told Chow that he was breaking up with her but she refused, throwing a glass cup on the floor and calling the police. The trial continues. What prosecutors say Prosecutors opened the trial on Nov. 2 by arguing that the killing was premeditated, according to the South China Morning Post. They told the court that Lo checked into the hotel room the day before Chow died, bought a knife on the day of her death and brought her to the room with promises of gifts, and that she suffered more than 40 knife wounds to her face, neck, torso and limbs. A forensic report presented by the prosecution puts her cause of death as severe blood loss. It said she had been attacked from behind, and found no signs of drowning. If found guilty of murder, Lo could be sentenced to life imprisonment under Hong Kong law.