HK cops probe death of girl after quarrel with Pinoy mom

Hong Kong police authorities are investigating the case of an eight-year-old girl who fell to her death from the eighth floor of an apartment in Lantau after quarreling with her Filipino mother last Friday, according to a newspaper report.

The Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported Saturday that Chan Chi-San fell from their flat at around 6 a.m., an hour after she locked herself in the bathroom.

The report showed the victim came from the Philippines three weeks ago to be reunited with her Hong Kong father and to celebrate the lunar New Year.

Prior to the fall, police reported visiting the victim’s apartment at around 2 a.m. after her 33-year-old mother was found wandering in the street in her pajamas. The report did not divulge the mother’s name.

"She (mother) told them she did not have her keys and that her daughter would not unlock the door. Police persuaded Chi-San to open the door and left," the report said.

When asked by police about her daughter’s death, the mother claimed that she was asleep when the girl fell so she did not know what happened.

According to the report, the mother told police that she had an argument with Chi-San shortly after 5 a.m. when the girl complained she was hungry. The girl ran into the toilet and locked herself inside while the mother went back to bed.

After this, a security guard heard a loud crash and the girl was later found sprawled on the floor.

Police tried to enter the apartment but the mother refused to open the door. Fearing that the mother would also jump to the ground, an inflated cushion was placed on the ground below.

When the girl’s father, who reportedly runs a private club in Wan Chai, arrived almost two hours later and was also unable to open the door, firemen broke in.

The police found the mother dazed and pointing to the toilet. The bathroom window, which does not have a security grill, was also found open.

The report showed the mother was brought to the Princess Margaret Hospital for examination.

Police are investigating whether the girl jumped, fell accidentally or was pushed to her death. — Sheila Crisostomo