A 42-year-old woman accused of depriving her daughter of medical treatment and starving the seven-year-old was found guilty in Hong Kong’s High Court on Wednesday and sentence to 10 years in jail.
Severn jurors unanimously found the woman, Wong Wing-man, guilty on one count of neglecting her daughter Suki Ling Yun-lam for months in 2015 and one count of perverting the course of justice, the Apple Daily reported.
Wong’s husband, Rocky Ling Yiu-chung, the stepfather of the girl, was also found guilty of preventing the course of justice.
Judge Kevin Zervos described the crime as the worst of its kind and said the maximum sentence of 10 years in jail did not reflect the severity of the case. The High Court had heard the girl suffered serious malnutrition and permanent brain damage in 2015 and was now in a vegetative state, bedridden in the hospital.
The case came to light when Wong, a mainland Chinese migrant, carried Suki into Yan Chai Hospital in Tsuen Wan in 2015 as the girl’s heart had stopped beating. Medical personnel discovered wounds all over the girl’s body, the Oriental Daily reported.
During the trial, the court heard that the mother told police and social workers that her daughter was born prematurely and had congenital defects. She wanted a stop to further investigation.
Ling told the court he supported Wong’s version of events as Wong had threatened to harm his family. Both were remanded in custody ahead of a mitigation hearing on Thursday.