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Mystery still surrounds death of Hong Kong model

In a city where gruesome and often bizarre deaths are commonplace, that of pretty Hong Kong model Annie Pang (彭楚盈) stands as one of the most compelling.

Her headless and dismembered skeleton was found in the bedroom of an apartment owned by the brother of one of the city's most prominent politicians in October 1999, four years after she went missing.

The remains of her skull were found in a nearby rubbish bin and in the bathroom were the remains of drugs paraphernalia.

Police said there was not enough evidence to suggest a crime had been committed and the case was closed, seemingly destined to remain another of the city's baffling mysteries.

But an order by a court this week to launch an inquest into the gruesome death has given hope to Pang's family, which has petitioned tirelessly for some sort of closure of the case, believing the budding model was murdered.

The probing of the case by a coroner is likely to lead to some tough questions not only of the police, who conducted two fruitless investigations into the death, but also of the justice department, which has been criticized for not having ordered an inquest when her remains were first discovered.

"In my view, the coroner should have held an inquest," Justice Michael Hartmann said in court on Wednesday as he ordered a tribunal to probe the case.

"There are too many issues that require explanation," he added.

The road to justice for Pang's family has been one of false starts and unexplained administrative dead-ends. Hartmann's inquest order came even after the police and the coroner recommended no further hearing was necessary.

The case was re-opened for a third time in July when Pang's sisters won support from local legislators.

According to reports, Pang was a known drug user.

But the court was told this week that she also had a "gambling habit, medical conditions, suicidal tendencies, complicated love affairs [and a] casual sexual attitude."

The new claims about Pang have only added to the mystique of a case whose tantalizing links to the city's political establishment have made it a perennial potboiler.

Pang's remains were discovered in a flat owned by John Fang (方曼生) , the brother of Anson Chan (陳方安生), Hong Kong's former top civil servant and one-time de facto deputy leader who still occupies a position in the public's affections.

The public prosecution office, led by director Grenville Cross, submitted an application for inquest two weeks ago after the police and coroner's office said they didn't feel a tribunal would be possible.

Saying it felt there were real grounds for an inquest, the justice department submitted a first ever application for the High Court to overrule the coroner's office and call for a probe into Pang's death

In his application, Cross cited questions surrounding Fang and Pang's relations as reasons for requesting the inquest.

For instance, Fang claimed not to have seen the body despite saying he had entered the flat the day before the body was discovered, the court heard.

Also, he claimed to have visited to close windows that had been left open all the time her body lay in the apartment -- a period of four years -- and yet the court was told there was no rain water damage in the flat.
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