Cereal box baby killer: Depression, cultural pressures, trauma of childbirth plagued Teo, UK court finds

PETALING JAYA: Depression and the pressure of cultural background plagued Malaysian student Teo Jia Xin, who has been convicted of murdering her newborn baby girl by stuffing her into a cereal box.

This according to UK court documents which quoted Warwick Crown Court Judge Justice Tipples who said that Teo, 22, had recurrent depression and had been diagnosed with mild depressive disorder.

"I am sure that, when you gave birth there was an acute exacerbation of that depression, and the psychiatrists diagnosed that you suffered an acute stress reaction.

"There is no doubt that you had a highly traumatic experience," she said.

Tipples added that Teo had hid her pregnancy from friends and family due to fear of disapproval or rejection.

"I am sure you did not want your family or friends to know about the baby, because you were scared what their reaction would be.

"You did not want to let your parents down or get into trouble with them as you were still a student, with the opportunity to study abroad, and that was an opportunity they had worked hard to give you.

"I accept, as Miss Brand KC pointed out, that your own cultural background may also have been relevant to your fears about how your family, friends and others would react to the knowledge of your unplanned pregnancy," she said.

However, Tipples said that Teo was fully capable of choosing to keep her baby alive and seek help instead of killing her.

"You knew that all the people in your bedroom that afternoon were there to help you and were very concerned about you.

"I am sure that you deliberately chose not to open the bathroom door and let them help you so that they would not find out about your baby, and so that you could still kill her and hide her.

"I am sure that you understood full well what you were doing, and what the consequences would be," she said.

Tipples sentenced Teo to life in prison with a minimum of 17 years before the chance of parole.