Young siblings "lived in hell” from family abuses, court told

A deceased five-year-old girl and her 8-year-old brother “lived in hell” from abuses coming from their father, stepmother and step grandmother, High Court was told. 

The two had more than 130 wounds on their bodies, and the five-year-old eventually died, prosecution said in the murder trial of the father and stepmother which started today. 

The 29-year-old father and the 30-year-old mother pleaded not guilty to murdering the girl on January 6, 2018. The couple pleaded guilty to manslaughter, which was rejected by prosecution. 

The 57-year-old step grandmother denied four child neglect charges, including wilfully ill-treating and neglecting the two children while having custody between August 2017 and January 2018. 

The abuse started in late 2016 and worsened over the 5 months period at the home of the step grandmother, which is in Tuen Mun, prosecution said. 

During that period the girl and the boy were severely injured. They were not fed well and were not allowed to sleep. They were often thrown up and down, reaching the roof. 

The 5-year-old died of septicemia due to infections.