Neighbour heard chopping noises coming from the flat on Sunday.
- A gruesome crime that shocked Hong Kong
- Neighbours complained of blocked drainage pipe
- On checking woman’s flat, found blood in water seeping out of flooded bathroom
- Body parts of girl found in bathtub in her home
- Neighbours claim mother and daughter always quarrelled
A mother has been arrested on suspicion of murdering her 12-year-old daughter, whose dismembered body was found in a Mong Kok flat on Sunday night.
The mother, a 37-year-old surnamed Cao from China, is a long-term resident in the city and holds a two-way permit from the mainland, while the girl was a Hong Kong identity card holder who had been studying in the city.
They had been living in a 60 sq ft (5.54 sq m) subdivided flat on the third floor of the Man Fook Building in Mong Kok.
At around 9 pm yesterday, neighbours went to their unit to check for blocked drainage pipes. They found that the flat’s bathroom was flooded and there was blood in the water seeping out of the bathroom.
According to Apple Daily, one of the neighbours tried to make a police report but the suspect snatched away the mobile phone and locked herself in the flat.
Police arrived at the flat just after 9pm after the neighbour complained that the suspect had refused to return her mobile phone.
The suspect was standing outside the flat when police arrived. She refused to cooperate and officers had to break down the door to enter the flat where they found a dismembered body, which they believed was the woman’s daughter, in the bathtub.
Mong Kok assistant district commander Chung Chi-ming said: “Her head, organs and body had been mutilated. The bathroom had flooded which was affecting neighbouring flats.”
Police said there was no record of the woman’s mental history or domestic violence.
Police will attempt to locate the daughter’s father.
When asked if the woman appeared delirious or had resisted when she was arrested, Chung only said she was not able to cooperate with officers at that time: “We have to wait until her situation gets better to investigate.”
The suspect has been detained for questioning.
South China Morning Post reported that a neighbour surnamed Tsui, who lives opposite the crime scene, said on Monday that she heard chopping noises that lasted about half an hour coming from the flat at around 3pm on Sunday. She also smelled strong antiseptic.
Neighbours reportedly also said the mother and daughter were always quarrelling, but they recently became unusually quiet.
Chung said they were looking for the related tools the woman may have used. Forensic pathologists were at the scene on Monday morning.