Mother pushed daughter from bridge, then jumped herself, hears court

A schizophrenic woman who pushed her 12-year-old daughter off a bridge and then jumped herself, leaving them both seriously injured, has admitted attempting to murder the child.

The Court of First Instance heard that Zeng Guomei, 47, begged her daughter to climb onto her back so she could carry her. When the girl agreed, Zeng dropped her from a footbridge in Tsuen Wan on June 12 last year.

Both mother and daughter suffered multiple injuries from the drop of almost nine metres. They were treated at Princess Margaret Hospital in Kwai Chung and remained in hospital until August last year.

Zeng's defence said she had suffered depression since 2008 and had been diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2012.

Prosecutor Claudia Ng Cheuk-hwa said Zeng married on the mainland in 1997 and gave birth to the girl in 2001. She moved to Hong Kong in 2004 and divorced in October 2012, gaining custody of the child.

In the weeks before the murder attempt, Zeng had asked her former husband to take custody of the child as her mental health worsened. The girl then went to live with a foster family.

Mother and daughter arranged to meet in Tsuen Wan on June 12 and had lunch together.