Indefinite hospital order for HK mum who fatally stabbed daughter

A 50-year-old Hong Kong woman suffering from schizophrenia has been ordered to indefinite detention in a psychiatric hospital after fatally stabbing her 24-year-old daughter in Wong Tai Sin.

The mother, security guard Yang Leying, had battled schizophrenia since 2008 and lived with her daughter at Tsz Ching Estate.

In December 2021, Yang, gripped by delusions that her daughter was having an affair with her boyfriend, heard voices telling her to kill. Armed with a 30cm meat fork, she stabbed her daughter in the abdomen. The victim collapsed in the corridor while screaming for help and later died in hospital from massive blood loss.

Neighbors recalled frantic cries for help, while paramedics found Yang restraining her daughter, declaring: “She must die today.”

Yang pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. Judge Anthony Kwok Kai-on cited psychiatric reports saying Yang showed violent tendencies, lacked insight into her illness, and had inadequate community support. He imposed an indefinite hospital order, requiring long-term psychiatric care and supervision.