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JAMIE Chapman fled to mainland China with his wife after cops say he inspected his mistress’s dead body after allegedly killing her.
Police arrested the Brit after Mevi Novitasari, 25, was found dead in the pool at the bottom of a waterfall on Hong Kong island on Monday.
Novitasari was tragically found at the bottom of a Hong Kong waterfall
SCMP
Alamy
Chapman was with Novitasari at the top of the waterfall before she died on Sunday, cops claim.
They say the business owner subsequently inspected her dead body in the pool below before leaving the area just 30 minutes after arriving.
Chapman then fled to China with his wife – taking the high-speed train to Guangzhou.
Novitasari was a housekeeper and had been having an affair with Chapman – who was not her boss – the South China Morning Post reports (SCMP).
A source claimed to the paper Chapman was at the waterfall with Novitasari ending the affair just moments before her death.
They told the SCMP: “They took a taxi to the park, where the man asked to break up with her.
“But the woman became emotionally agitated and suddenly jumped off the waterfall.”
But cops claim Novitasari had been struck in the head and drowned to death.
Novitasari, who had lived in Hong Kong for four years, was then found floating in the water at the bottom of the waterfall by residents Monday morning.
She was identified from her slippers and her phone.
Chapman and his wife were arrested at a train station on Tuesday after they returned to Hong Kong.
It is not clear why the pair returned to the city after fleeing.
The 34-year-old was charged with murder while his wife was arrested on suspicion of aiding a criminal before being let go.
Chapman made his first court appearance Friday where he did not enter a plea and his lawyer did not request bail.
APThe judge adjourned the case to January to give time for further investigation.
Pictured for the first time, he was seen in a red shirt and sweater, sitting in the back of a police vehicle.
Police superintendent Sin Kwok-ming said Novitasari’s clothes remained untouched, possibly ruling out a physical altercation.
Sin said that the Brit was suspected because of his behaviour, and because he did not report the incident.
The official said: “A lot of things about him were unreasonable.
“[…] Some evidence had also disappeared for no reason.
“All these circumstances suggest that this is not a case of natural death.”
The Indonesian consulate said it will help repatriate Novitasari’s body back to Cilacap, in central Java.
According to local media, Chapman and his Hong Kong wife settled in the city after marrying, where they ran a coffee shop together.
The Brit is believed to be originally from London and graduated from Loughborough University in 2011 before moving to Hing Kong.
Reuters
English (US)