Mom tried to kill daughter after 'voice warned of her brothel fate'

A mentally ill mother who fed milk tea, which had sleeping pills slipped in, to her daughter before slashing her in the neck was convicted of attempted murder and administering drugs in the high court yesterday.

Judge Judianna Barnes Wai-ling said she would consider a hospitalization order, and adjourned the hearing to February 1 for sentencing, pending a psychiatric report.

Yeung Fong-chu, 46, was charged with one count of attempted murder, an alternative charge of wounding with intent, and another count of administering stupefying or overpowering drugs to commit an indictable offense. All three offenses are punishable by up to life imprisonment.

She pleaded not guilty to all three counts for slipping sleeping pills into milk tea and serving it to her 58-year-old husband, Henry, and daughter Natalie, who was 19 then, before seriously injuring her in the neck and stabbing her in the hands.

The jury of four women and three men took six hours to unanimously find her guilty of using stupefying or overpowering drugs. They also reached a verdict on the attempted murder charge by a 5-2 margin.

The court earlier heard that Yeung claimed to have heard a voice saying he would abduct and rape her daughter, triggering that bid "to help her daughter escape the misfortune."

Police were called to the family's Laguna City residence in Lam Tin around 7 am on April 14, 2021, where they found the wounded daughter and her father, whose speech was slurred by the drugged tea.

Blood stains were found on the bedsheet and pillow in Natalie's room, as well as in the kitchen and toilet. A knife next to the bedroom window had her DNA in the blood on the blade and handle.

The husband was slightly injured on his left elbow, but the daughter needed to stay in the intensive care unit for a spell.

Lorazepam, a kind of sleeping pill, was found in their urine.

Yeung was arrested in her younger sister's home on April 15, 2021, where officers found another knife, also containing Natalie's DNA.

Yeung told officers during a video-recorded interview she had heard a voice six months before the crime, saying he would kidnap her daughter and sell her to a brothel.

Although father and daughter tried to persuade her that she was hearing things, she ignored it until the night before her murder attempt, when she heard the voice again.

She felt she should flee the scene with her daughter as soon as possible.

On April 13, 2021, she bought milk tea and mixed in 30 Lorazepam pills - far exceeding the prescription dosage. Father and daughter shared a cup.

After they fell asleep and she had committed the attacks, Yeung left the flat with another knife, with which she planned to commit suicide.

The prosecution had earlier said Yeung obviously suffered from mental problems but considered her competent to stand trial.