A woman who beheaded her mother before setting their home ablaze and jumping to her death from the Wong Tai Sin public housing flat had made a regular visit to a psychiatric hospital only nine days before.
Kwai Chung Hospital said yesterday that Chan Sau-lai, 33, consulted its psychiatric centre for the first time in 2004. 'She had arranged to have regular check-ups [in the psychiatric outpatient clinic] since then. The last time she had a check-up was on July 30,' a hospital spokesman said yesterday.
The 71-year-old mother and her daughter, the youngest of eight children, received Comprehensive Social Security Assistance and had lived on the 11th floor of Sau Yuen House on Chuk Yuen South Estate for about 2 1/2 years.
Neighbours said the mother and daughter had a very good relationship and appeared to care for each other, although the daughter had a hot temper that she could not control sometimes.
Yesterday, the elder brother and sister went back to the flat to burn offerings for the pair. Appearing shocked and sad, one of the brothers said Chan excelled at sport but had had learning difficulties since she was very young.
The brother added that Chan had attacked him with a knife a few years ago but he did not report the case to police, because he was not badly wounded and she was his sister.
