‘Schizophrenic’ Hong Kong woman who claimed voices told her to chop infant daughter to death gets court hospital order

A Hong Kong mother who claimed voices in her head told to chop her 18-month-old daughter to death with a knife to prevent herself being bullied was told to serve a hospital order for an unspecified period in the High Court this morning.

Chu Lai-kam, 38, a mother of two, pleaded guilty to one count of manslaughter on the basis of diminished responsibility. She admitted to chopping her infant daughter’s neck and head more than 40 times on June 4 last year before cutting herself.

Three psychiatrists diagnosed Chu with schizophrenia at the time of the killing and agreed the illness substantially impaired her mental responsibility.

Handing down the sentence, Madam Justice Maggie Poon Man-kay said: “A hospital order without a specific period is an appropriate sentence in the present circumstance.”

She considered the experts’ reports showing Chu was still driven by her mental illness and had limited insight into her condition.

In mitigation, Barrister Edwin Choy Wai-bond said: “This is the most tragic and unfortunate case as [Chu] had no intention to kill the daughter she loved.”