Stepmum chops off girl's hand and throws it away

FUJIAN, China - A woman chopped off her step-daughter's right hand with a kitchen knife, threw the severed hand into a nearby cesspit and violently deterred anyone from retrieving it.

According to Apple Daily, the incident took place on June 28. The 35-year-old woman, surnamed Wu, reportedly dragged her 7-year-old step-daughter Xiao Ting into the kitchen and proceeded to cut off her right hand.

Shanghaiist reported the girl's grandfather, who was fixing the water pipes behind their house, heard her screams and ran back home. He found the child wailing at the front door with blood dripping from her injured wrist.

He immediately attempted to stop the blood loss by exerting pressure on her injured limb, and brought his granddaughter to a nearby clinic for medical treatment with the help from their neighbours.

While Xiao Ting's grandfather and neighbours were frantically searching for the girl's missing hand, her step-mother appeared nonchalant while sitting in the living room.

Wu later dashed out of the house and picked up the severed hand from a sand pile. She threw it into a cesspit and even prodded it deeper into the pit with a pole.

QQ News reported that the woman tried to deter the neighbours from retrieving the hand by waving the kitchen knife around. She was later subdued and arrested by the police.

Wu's husband revealed that she was mentally-ill and he had reminded his family not to aggravate her. He added that it was not clear why his wife suddenly attacked their daughter.

Xiao Ting's hand has since been reattached but doctors have said that chances of a successful reattachment are low.

Wu is currently undergoing police investigations.

minlee@sph.com.sg