A woman has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and ill-treatment of a child following the death of her five-year-old son, who the court heard suffered from serious malnutrition and had scars and bruises all over his body. Hong Kong’s High Court. File photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. [Table]
đź’ˇContains upsetting descriptions of abuse.
[/Table] The 37-year-old woman, identified as “L.S.T.,” appeared at the High Court on Monday.
She was arrested in September 2022 after calling police saying that her son had died. When officers arrived in their Sham Shui Po subdivided flat, they found an unconscious boy – referred to as “Z” in court – lying in bed.
The court heard that Z was believed by a doctor to not have eaten for two to three months prior to his death, based on his calorie deficit. An autopsy report found that his organs were atrophied, suggesting he had been starved for a long period of time, local media reported .
The five-year-old was around one metre tall and weighed only 9.7 kilograms, less than half the average weight for a child that age.
His cause of death was believed to be severe malnutrition.
The boy was also found with 129 injuries on his body, including bruises and marks that appeared to have been caused by a blunt object one or two days before his death.
Mother of four
According to details revealed in court, the defendant was born in mainland China and finished school after Form Four, the equivalent of grade 10. She had a history of substance abuse, and was convicted of two drug-related offences in 2018. Social Welfare Department. Photo: GovHK. The defendant was a mother of four. Her youngest child was born while she was remanded after her arrest, and was taken to Vietnam by his father to be cared for by family.
Her other three children had all been taken away by the Social Welfare Department at different points in time as she was deemed unsuitable to care for them.
Judge Susana D’Almada Remedios questioned why the defendant was able to regain custody of them in 2020 and 2021. The defendant’s lawyer, David Boyton, said authorities awarded her custody of the children again after she stopped her drug abuse.
Remedios also questioned why the social worker who conducted home visits did not detect any abnormalities in the boy.
The court heard that the defendant’s friend, a woman surnamed Lau who often visited her, had observed that the defendant was biased towards her two other children X and Y, and that she had told her before that she did not like Z.
When Z refused to sleep at night, Lau would tie his arms and legs, and would also hit him, according to the friend. The Hong Kong Police Force headquarters in Wan Chai. Photo: Candice Chau/HKFP. The defendant admitted to hitting Z with a cane and clothes hanger on his hand and buttocks, but denied striking him on the head.
Kindergarten absences
Police also conducted a video interview with X, the defendant’s oldest child. X said that her mother would tie Z to the bed and not allow him to leave it.
Z only left the room a few times a week, and would have to eat and urinate there. X said her mother banned her from playing with him.
She also told police that her mother did not allow Z to attend Zoom classes, and that she lied to teachers saying that Z was sick.
The court heard that Z was enrolled in kindergarten by the Social Welfare Department in September 2020. During that academic year, he only attended school for 38 days. The following academic year, he only went to school for 36 days. [Table]
đź’ˇ If you are suffering from sexual or domestic violence, regardless of your age or gender, contact the police, Harmony House ( click for details ) and/or the Social Welfare Department on 28948896. Dial 999 in emergencies.
[/Table] Teachers last saw him in school in January 2022, after which the kindergarten began online classes due to the pandemic. When in-person lessons resumed in May, he did not return to school.
The defendant’s case was adjourned to July 24 for sentencing. Under Hong Kong law, manslaughter is punishable by up to life imprisonment.