A Hong Kong woman has been sentenced to one year of compulsory psychiatric treatment at a correctional facility for killing her one-year-old daughter in a murder-suicide attempt three years ago.
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The High Court on Friday ordered that Liu Ka-ki undergo continuous treatment at Siu Lam Psychiatric Centre in Tuen Mun after she pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the basis of diminished responsibility.
The defendant admitted killing her daughter, Lo Yuet-ning, by poisoning and suffocating her at a subdivided flat at North Point’s Majestic Apartments on April 23, 2022.
Liu, who was not previously known to mental health services, had been suffering from adjustment disorder and depression, partly due to debts and harassment by loan sharks.
The court heard Liu’s husband, the family’s sole breadwinner, was laid off during the Covid-19 pandemic and struggled to find alternative employment to make ends meet, prompting her to take out high-interest rate loans to cover his debts.
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Liu’s husband rented the subdivided flat in March 2022 to protect his wife from debt collectors.