The defence in the trial of Fang Sun has told the jury they might find it strange that he hired a private investigator to follow Elizabeth Zhong, but he did it to gather evidence for his legal proceedings against her over money.
Sun has pleaded not guilty to his former business partner's murder and today his defence pointed to another man as a possible suspect.
Just days before Zhong was killed, a private investigator said Sun sent him to SkyCity Casino to take photos of her gambling.
On Tuesday the defence told the jury if Sun was in fact the person who killed Zhong that's not keeping a low profile.
"If you've formed this murderous intent, you've got this plan to kill at that stage, why on earth are you involving an ex-New Zealand police detective in surveillance and having photos taken of her," defence lawyer Sam Wimsett said.
Instead, the defence said Sun employed private investigators to follow Zhong because of his civil proceedings against her over money.
The defence said he wanted to know her whereabouts so he could serve legal documents on her and collect evidence, and he was open and honest about it when questioned by police.
"You may not like that fact that Mr Sun was having Ms Zhong followed, and you might think it's a bit strange, but it made sense in as much as he had court proceedings happening which he was still gathering evidence for," Wimsett said.
Sun and Zhong went into business together in 2014, owning wineries and film companies.
But the relationship soured and in 2019 Sun filed legal proceedings against her in the High Court.
"He's not a complete idiot, he's fully aware that the whole world would be then looking to him if anything happened to Ms Zhong," Wimsett said.
In its closing statement today, the defence also pointed to Zhong's ex-boyfriend as a possible suspect, calling his behaviour when she was reported missing "indifferent" and "cold" saying he didn't attempt to call or text her.
"You can't be sure Fang Sun did it, and you can't exclude Kai Gui Zheng as a possibility," Wimsett said.
On Wednesday, it will be up to the jury to decide.
