A Hong Kong man has been found guilty of murdering his three-year-old daughter by violently shaking her to death.
Lau Ka-ping appeared at the High Court on Thursday to hear his verdict after a trial that lasted over 20 days.
The seven-member jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict after deliberating for less than three hours.
The 42-year-old was accused of wilfully assaulting his daughter between May and July 18, 2020, and murdering her on July 29, 2020, the date she passed away at Princess Margaret Hospital after being sent there for treatment. He earlier pleaded guilty to the wilful assault charge.
Testifying for the prosecution during the trial, the girl’s mother, Helen Leung, said Lau was harsh towards their daughter, disciplining her if she failed to read or sing English songs, according to court news outlet The Witness.
He had on more than one occasion taken their daughter by the shoulder and shaken her for around 10 seconds, Leung said.
The court also heard that Lau had been convicted 10 times, including for a wounding offence, in which he had poured corrosive liquid on Leung during a fight two weeks after their daughter was born. Lau was handed a 20-month jail sentence for the offence.
The defendant personally testified in the murder trial. He said that on July 18, 2020, he heard his daughter crying and was angered because he had just fallen asleep. He said he asked his daughter loudly, “Why are you crying?” and used his hands to shake his daughter’s shoulders.
Lau said while he was in the bathroom, he heard a sound, and when he came out, he saw his daughter had fallen on the floor.
He said he then called the paramedics, and his daughter was brought to a hospital.
Doctors’ testimonies
During the trial, the prosecution read out the testimonies and medical reports from two doctors who treated Lau’s daughter when she was hospitalised.
The neurosurgeon and ophthalmologist said they found signs of bleeding beneath the girl’s skull and in her retinas, similar to shaken baby syndrome, a serious brain injury that occurs when an infant or toddler is shaken forcefully.
A coroner who was summoned by the prosecution said the girl’s cause of death was a head injury involving brain tissue that had necrotised. The coroner said this appeared to be related to violent shaking, and that the injury seemed to have happened two weeks before her death.
The girl died on her third birthday, the court heard.
Lau admitted during the trial that he had punished his daughter before, including by shaking her by the shoulders. He said he did so because he wanted the best for her, and was afraid his daughter would “follow in [his] footsteps” and “learn bad habits” like he did.
The court also heard that Lau had earlier pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter, but this was not accepted by the prosecution.
The case was adjourned to next Wednesday for mitigation, after which Judge Anna Lai would hand down Lau’s mandatory life sentence for murder.
