Neighbors revealed the details of socialite Cai Tianfeng’s corpse case! The sound of chainsaws lasted for 30 minutes and "the aroma of rich soup wafted out"

The case of Hong Kong socialite Cai Tianfeng's body dismemberment was resumed in the High Court yesterday (21st). Cao Zhantu, the upstairs neighbor of the village house where the case occurred, appeared in court to testify. He revealed that he heard the sound of electric saws and violent collisions for about 20 to 30 minutes in the afternoon of the incident. He also smelled the strong aroma of "green and carrot soup" coming from downstairs that night. However, the defense questioned that his memory may have been affected by media reports, and Cao Zhantu denied fabricating his testimony.

Hong Kong socialite Cai Tianfeng was killed in 2023, and the case of dismemberment continues to be heard in the High Court.

Cao Zhantu said that he was living upstairs above the office involved in the case in Longwei Village, Dabu. After Cai Tianfeng’s former father-in-law, Kuang Qiu, rented the place in February 2023, the four windows in the house were successively covered by black objects, making it difficult for outsiders to see clearly what was going on inside. At about 3 pm on the day of the incident, Cao Zhantu saw two seven-passenger vehicles parked nearby, and then someone carried heavy objects from the vehicle into the house. Soon after, there was construction-like noise.

Cao Zhantu pointed out that the sound of chainsaws and violent collisions sounded intermittently for about 20 to 30 minutes. The sound was so loud that it affected him and his friends on the phone, but he did not hear calls or calls for help. At about 7 o'clock that night, Cao Zhantu smelled a strong cooking smell coming from downstairs again, and described it as the smell of "green and carrot soup." This smell reminded him of food and made him feel hungry, so he called the tea restaurant to order delivery and went out to pick up the food at about 8 p.m.

During the cross-examination, the defense pointed out that when Cao Zhantu first took his statement to the police, he only claimed to smell an "unspeakable special cooking smell", but now he specifically said it was green carrot soup. It questioned whether his memory was affected by media reports and claimed that there was no sound of chainsaws coming from the underground unit on the day of the crime. In this regard, Cao Zhantu denied fabricating the testimony afterwards and insisted that what he said was his personal experience. He also stated that he had moved out of his original residence in July 2023 about five months after the case was exposed.

Looking back on the case, Cai Tianfeng was killed and dismembered in February 2023. The police later found some remains in a village house in Lung Mei Estate, Tai Po. Her ex-husband Kwong Kong-chi, her ex-husband's brother Kwong Kong-kit, and her ex-father-in-law Kwong Qiu were charged with murder. All three of them denied the charges, and the case is still under trial.