Young Hong Kong mother likely to escape jail over death of her newborn baby
Court told the accused tossed her son into a rubbish bag after giving birth alone
A young mother is likely to escape prison after she tossed her newborn baby into a rubbish bag because she thought the boy was dead.
A cleaner later threw the bag from the third floor to a garbage room on the ground floor, unaware of what was inside. The baby suffered a fractured skull, multiple haemorrhages in different organs, and head, chest and abdominal injuries.
A forensic pathologist said he believed the boy was still alive when he suffered the injuries on October 4, 2013. However, a finding of congestion of the lungs was equivocal in determining whether the baby was born alive or not.
Wong Mei-yi, 21, pleaded guilty in the Court of First Instance to one count of infanticide. She had given birth when she was alone at home.
The judge, Mr Justice Kevin Zervos, told her: "When a mother kills her own child while out of her mind when she has not fully recovered from giving birth to a child, imprisonment is extremely rare."
The judge said he would consider a probation order and adjourned sentencing to May 5 for a probation report.
Prosecutor Michael Arthur said Wong was 20 years old when she fell pregnant to her boyfriend in March 2013. She told only him about her condition.
On October 4, she said she felt great pain in her abdomen while at home alone and she was in too much distress to call for help. She gave birth in the toilet.
After her arrest the next day, Wong told police she had been terrified during the delivery and then found the baby was not breathing. So she wrapped the boy in clothes, put him in a bag and dumped the bag in the rubbish bin on the third floor.
Cleaners later discovered the body on the ground floor.
The pathologist said the baby's injuries were probably caused by a fall from a considerable height. But he agreed that Wong was unlikely to have been able to detect signs of life in the baby.
