Hong Kong dad accused of killing daughter allegedly abused her more than 20 times
Lau Kai-ping, on trial for the murder of his three-year-old daughter, hung her upside down by her ankles and doused her with cold water, mother tells court
A Hong Kong man suspected of killing his three-year-old daughter by violently shaking her allegedly abused her more than 20 times during the two months they lived together. This included holding her upside down so her head struck the floor and dousing her with cold water in the shower.
The High Court on Wednesday heard that Lau Kai-ping, 42, became increasingly abusive towards Leung Nga-sze in the two months leading up to her death.
Testifying for a second day before a jury of four men and three women, mother Helen Leung, 41, said Lau had hung his daughter upside down by holding her calves and hit her head on the ground.
“I heard Nga-sze scream and ran to the room and saw the defendant holding her upside down. He lowered her to the ground and her head hit the floor so I grabbed her immediately,” she told the court before Madam Justice Anna Lai Yuen-kee.
“Nga-sze was crying agitatedly. I asked if he was crazy and said that she would fall on her head and her head would explode if he let go.”
Between mid-May 2020 and that July, Lau lived with Leung and their daughter at their Sham Shui Po flat, although he was prohibited from having contact with the toddler under a child protection order.