Hong Kong jury hears five-year-old victim told sister she was ‘very scared’, dizzy before death
- In interview played at High Court, seven-year-old recalls her father repeatedly tossing her stepsister upwards, causing her head to hit the ceiling
- Girl’s account in murder trial describes numerous beatings, siblings being forced to sleep in a sleeping bag placed in the corner of a room
The jury at a Hong Kong murder trial on Wednesday heard a child recall hearing her five-year-old stepsister say she was “very scared” before falling unconscious at home and dying later the same day.
In an interview with police played at the High Court, the seven-year-old, who is serving as a witness against her parents, also recounted how her stepfather had “forcefully” thrown her stepsister upwards, hitting her head against the ceiling seven to eight times on the night before she died.
Her mother, she said, was watching and urging him on.
[They] wanted to scare her. Because caning her with a rattan stick was useless
“[They] wanted to scare her,” the child said. “Because caning her with a rattan stick was useless.”
She said her parents then swung her sister horizontally, threatening to let her go, then set her down and made her practise walking in a straight line. The deceased girl and her eight-year-old stepbrother were also forced to eat while standing next to the door holding their bowls in their hands, she said.
“Why couldn’t they eat together [with you]?” the interviewing officer asked.
“Because they lacked table manners,” the girl replied. “I don’t know what that means. Papa, mama and granny said it.”
