A mother accused of killing her daughter and dismembering her body has been charged with murder, though in a court appearance this morning claimed she did not understand the allegations against her, according to reports.
Cao Yan, 37, was arrested on Sunday night outside her flat in Mong Kong. Inside officers found the dismembered body of her daughter Ho Mei-kit. The 12-year-old had been cut into several pieces, some of which clogged the bathroom drain, causing the flat to flood.
Charged yesterday, Yan, a masseuse who moved to Hong Kong from mainland China, appeared this morning at West Kowloon Court.
According to Apple Daily, she shook her head multiple times after being told she was being charged with out count of murder and said: “Do not understand”.
The SCMP reported Cao said she didn’t understand the allegations but, in response to a follow up question, said she knew what the term murder meant.
Pressed further, she said: “There are so many unclear matters involved in this incident. I, myself, was quite confused about it.”
Cao is accused of murdering her daughter on Dec. 17 at the sub-divided home they shared on Canton Road.
According to The Standard, police returned to the home yesterday to look for more evidence.
The newspaper reported that Cao was born in Sichuan and was previously married to a mainland man, who was the father of her daughter.
After the couple divorced, Cao married a Hongkonger and moved to the territory in 2013 under a one-way permit. Her second marriage also ended in divorce, The Standard reported.
Her daughter Ho was a Hong Kong ID card holder and attended Tong Mei Road Government Primary School, which held a memorial service yesterday.
The newspaper quoted a Facebook user who said she knew Ho as saying she was heartbroken over what had happened.
“She was such a cheerful kid. She was supposed to spend Christmas with her classmates,” the Facebook user wrote.
The case was adjourned until February 28 next year.
