A woman suffering from depression who splashed bathroom drain cleaner on her sleeping boyfriend because she suspected him of having an affair and he kept asking her for money has been jailed for a year and told to stop refusing psychiatric treatment.
Bakery worker Cheng Ah-lan, 46, had pleaded guilty in the Court of First Instance to one count of throwing corrosive liquid on Lee Po-yam, 43, who suffered second- and third-degree chemical burns to his face, ears, neck and left shoulder.
'I don't understand why you refuse psychiatric treatment,' Deputy Judge Patrick Li Hon-leung said after hearing that Cheng had suffered from a severe depressive disorder since giving birth in the early 1990s, but kept refusing treatment.
'I say you must get professional treatment to prevent the same thing happening again.'
The court heard earlier that Cheng threw the drain cleaner on Lee as he slept on the morning of January 15, and more of the liquid got on him when he woke and started struggling.
Cheng told police she had acted after starting to think of wrongs Lee had done her, including never giving their children money and constantly asking her for cash, as well as the possibility he was having an affair.