A former boyfriend of Auckland businesswoman Elizabeth Zhong broke down and sobbed after being cross-examined at the High Court on Tuesday,
Kai Gui Zheng was asked by defence lawyer Sam Wimsett if he had stabbed and killed Zhong in her house, to which he replied "no".
"It was a humiliation for him to ask me the questions like that" Zheng exclaimed to the court when the cross-examination ended.
Zhong, 55, was found dead in the boot of her Land Rover in the east Auckland suburb of Sunnyhills in November 2020.
More than two months later Fang Sun, her former business partner, was charged with her murder.
He has pleaded not guilty and is on trial at the High Court in Auckland.
On Monday, Zheng was called as a witness and told the court as part of his evidence he had met Zhong in early 2019.
The pair had a relationship that lasted for about half a year.
Zheng told the court he had moved in with Zhong during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown after they broke up because she was depressed and didn't feel safe in her surroundings.
On Tuesday, Wimsett began his cross-examination of Zheng.
Zheng was asked why he took several hours to join the search for Zhong after he learned she was missing in a phone call in November 2020.
"You didn't go over there and join the search until about six hours later is that right?" Wimsett asked.
Zheng said he had offered his help to Zhong's family but his offer was rejected.
"That is why after six hours I drive to the walking path where Elizabeth and I used to walk a lot during the lockdown," Zheng said.
"But on the 28th of November, after you had been told she was missing, you made no attempt at all to contact her?" Wimsett asked.
"That is correct, the reason is, number one, for the past two weeks I have tried multiple times and she never got back to me," Zheng replied.
Zheng said he believed Zhong's family had told him they could not reach her by telephone.
"It would be a waste of time to try to do the same thing by trying to reach her by telephone," said Zheng.
Zheng was being re-examined by Crown Prosecutor Gareth Kayes on Tuesday afternoon.
