Hong Kong mother on trial for neglect admits her ex-husband is not the biological father of her child
Mandy Wong had previously told the court that her co-accused, Rocky Ling, was the girl’s natural father
A woman accused of neglecting her seven-year-old daughter to a state of near death admitted for the first time in court on Monday that the child was not fathered by her ex-husband, who is on trial beside her.
But Mandy Wong Wing-man, 42, denied lying in the witness box, despite having told the jury under oath last Thursday: “Ling Yiu-chung was her father, her natural father.”
At the time, Wong had insisted that her co-defendant Rocky Ling Yiu-chung, 52, was Suki Ling Yun-lam’s biological father and that it was he who suggested bringing the mainland-born child to Hong Kong so he could raise her.
Records showed Suki was born in 2009 and entered Hong Kong in November 2014.
The High Court previously heard she was then enrolled in a local kindergarten, where she performed well in mathematics and drew pictures with the words “Daddy and Mummy I love you”, before teachers taught her how to write the complicated Chinese character for “love”.
But she did not always attend school and dropped out in April 2015.
Three months later, on July 18, 2015, Suki was admitted to hospital in a state of cardiac arrest. She was subsequently diagnosed with irreversible brain damage, profound intellectual disability, severe malnutrition, gangrenous wounds and significant wasting that left her capable of only breathing and moving her eyes.
Prosecutors alleged Wong neglected Suki from April 28 to July 18, 2015, and perverted the course of justice with Ling during investigations. The two have pleaded not guilty to all charges.
On Monday, defence counsel James McGowan asked Wong again if his client Ling was Suki’s biological father.
Judge tells jury in Hong Kong girl’s neglect trial not to let emotion play a part in their decision
Wong said three times on her sixth day of testimony: “She is my daughter with Ling Yiu-chung.”
When Mr Justice Kevin Zervos pointed out that she did not answer the question, Wong replied: “Yes.”
But she added after a pause: “Yun-lam is not his natural daughter.”
Still, Wong insisted that she “didn’t know” who Suki’s father was, or whether the child was born after she married Ling in 2006.
She also maintained that Ling was the child’s sole carer whenever she came to Hong Kong.
Prosecutor Duncan Percy said: “I suggest you are not being frank about this. You kept the travel documents at all times, you decided when to take Suki to the mainland.”
“I disagree,” Wong replied. “You can ask Ling to produce the documents of identity.”
Her testimony continues under cross-examination from the prosecution on Wednesday.
