In a gruesome crime that shocked Hong Kong, a 37-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of murdering her 12-year-old daughter whose dismembered body was discovered on Sunday (Dec 17) night.
The mother, surnamed Cao, is a two-way permit holder from the mainland. 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 the densely populated Mong Kok district.
Hong Kong's Apple Daily reported that the woman borrowed a mobile phone from a neighbour at around 7pm on Sunday. She claimed that her phone was being tapped and she needed to make a phone call to her husband to seek help. The neighbour made a police report when she refused to return the phone.
Police arrived at the Canton Road scene at around 9 pm on Sunday (Dec 17). They had to break down the door as Cao had locked herself inside the flat, reported South China Morning Post.
There was a strong smell of disinfectant when police entered the unit which was flooded with water seeping out from the bathroom.
When the police entered the bathroom, they found dismembered body parts in the bathtub. Some local reports said that the drainage pipes were clogged because the suspect tried to get rid of the body parts by washing them down the pipes.
"Her head, organs and body had been mutilated. The shower was blocked, which had resulted in flooding that affected neighbouring flats," Mong Kok assistant district commander Chung Chi Ming told reporters.
It was reported that she used a chopper to dismember the body. Eleven bags of body parts were taken away by the police.
Neighbours said the mother and daughter were always quarreling, but the pair recently became unusually quiet.
Police said there was no record of domestic violence or mental illness. They are trying to locate the father.
Mother arrested after 12-year-old daughter's body parts found in Hong Kong flat
The mother, surnamed Cao, is a two-way permit holder from the mainland. 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 the densely populated Mong Kok district.
Hong Kong's Apple Daily reported that the woman borrowed a mobile phone from a neighbour at around 7pm on Sunday. She claimed that her phone was being tapped and she needed to make a phone call to her husband to seek help. The neighbour made a police report when she refused to return the phone.
Police arrived at the Canton Road scene at around 9 pm on Sunday (Dec 17). They had to break down the door as Cao had locked herself inside the flat, reported South China Morning Post.
There was a strong smell of disinfectant when police entered the unit which was flooded with water seeping out from the bathroom.
When the police entered the bathroom, they found dismembered body parts in the bathtub. Some local reports said that the drainage pipes were clogged because the suspect tried to get rid of the body parts by washing them down the pipes.
"Her head, organs and body had been mutilated. The shower was blocked, which had resulted in flooding that affected neighbouring flats," Mong Kok assistant district commander Chung Chi Ming told reporters.
It was reported that she used a chopper to dismember the body. Eleven bags of body parts were taken away by the police.
Neighbours said the mother and daughter were always quarreling, but the pair recently became unusually quiet.
Police said there was no record of domestic violence or mental illness. They are trying to locate the father.
Mother arrested after 12-year-old daughter's body parts found in Hong Kong flat
