Mum with schizophrenia who killed daughter acquitted
A woman who repeatedly stabbed her elder daughter in the neck and torso after hearing voices telling her the eight-year-old was an evil spirit will be confined indefinitely.
The High Court on Tuesday found that the 36-year-old woman had killed the girl on Aug 10, 2021 at a residential unit in Geylang Lorong 31.
She has a younger daughter and the three of them shared a room in that unit, where they lived with the woman's other family members.
However, the court acquitted the woman of a murder charge owing to her mental incapacity.
The woman, who cannot be named under a gag order, was diagnosed with schizophrenia and was found to be of unsound mind at the time of the killing.
Under the Criminal Procedure Code, the court must order the accused person to be kept in safe custody and for the case to be reported to the Home Affairs Minister.
The law states the minister may order that person to be confined in a psychiatric institution, prison or other suitable place of safe custody atthe President's pleasure.
The woman started hearing voices in March 2021.
The voices became louder over time, telling her that her food and water were being poisoned and that her elder daughter was an evil spirit.
Her family members also noticed that she behaved strangely.
She believed her phone and laptop were being hacked and that people were following her and trying to harm her.
In the two days prior to the killing, the woman behaved erratically and was caught on surveillance cameras aimlessly taking the MRT.
On the morning of Aug 10, 2021, she began rambling incoherently, rattling off names of Chinese historical figures.
The woman's family members heard cries from the two girls and found the elder girl motionless on the floor while the woman was naked and holding a pair of scissors.
The woman's brother then threw a bloodstained knife towards the kitchen while his wife called the police.
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