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Baby's death 'unlawful'

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A WOMAN who suffered a depressive illness and hallucinations told her husband she had suffocated their 11-month-old daughter with a quilt, the Coroner's Court heard.

A jury returned a verdict of death by unlawful killing on Chan Mei-ki, who died of pressure on the neck at her Tuen Mun home on January 30.

The incident happened less than a month after Mei-ki's family moved to a stone hut and took over the care of the baby from a relative in China.

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Mei-ki's mother, Chau Fung-chu, 26, has been a voluntary patient at the Castle Peak Hospital since February and attempted to strangle herself with a pillowcase on February 3.

She had no previous history of psychiatric treatment.

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In his summing up, Coroner Rodney Venning said Mei-ki's parents gave two conflicting versions of the incident.

Her father, snack shop worker Chan Kiu-wan, 28, said he rushed home after receiving a call from his wife, telling him their daughter was not breathing and had no heart beat at about 10 pm on January 30. The child died before arrival at hospital.

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