HONG KONG: A waitress was jailed for eight years on Thursday for killing her three-month-old firstborn because his cries irritated her.

The High Court heard that Leung Siu-fong, 31, would lose control and slap, pinch and shake the baby over his “very noisy” bouts of crying.

Matthew Lee Man-hin died of head trauma on Aug 25, 2015. A pathologist observed that there was considerable bleeding in his brain.

Sentencing reports on his mother’s mental state found she was both emotional and unstable, which could have triggered the killing.

Leung was found guilty earlier this month of one count of manslaughter after a seven-member jury returned a unanimous verdict following five hours of deliberation.

She did not react upon hearing the sentence but was seen crying during mitigation and before she was escorted from the dock.

Justice Esther Toh Lye-ping said Leung’s prior clear record did not mean very much except to suggest that this was out of character.

But she also noted that the facts showed the offence was not committed on the spur of the moment, as the injuries indicated that the baby suffered on more than one occasion.

“It is without doubt that every person who becomes a parent has the normal and legal duty and responsibility to protect their child, and it’s never easy for a court at the end of the day to consider what punishment is merited in cases of this nature,” Toh said.

“For whatever punishment is given, it will never bring back the young life of baby Matthew.”

Defence counsel Hanif Mughal said in mitigation that his client regretted the offence and was willing to undergo psychological management.

“This, My Lady, is of course something she will have to live with for the rest of her life, the stigma of having killed her child,” he said. “There is deep remorse.” – South China Morning Post