Norma Leong Ng

Norma Leong Ng was found dead in her cot on Thursday 19 June 1948 in a basement flat at 14 Nelson Street in Liverpool.

Her mother had left her in her cot and had gone out. When she returned 19 hours later Norma Ng was dead.

At the inquest the coroner advised the mother not to give evidence in view of the possibility that the police might make a charge against her.

Norma Ng's mother was 22-years-old and the wife of a Chinese seaman.

The jury returned a verdict that Norma Ng had died from asphyxia, the cause of which was not known.

A friend of Norma Ng's mother who was also the wife of a Chinese seaman and lived in Bedford Street, said that she had known Norma Ng's mother for about 12 months. She said that on the night of Friday 18 June 1948 that she visited Norma Ng's mother at her basement home and that they gave Norma Ng some milk and then left her in her cot with her 3-year-old brother.

The friend said that they then met two other Chinese people and went to a house in Great George Street. She said that at about midnight she advised Norma Ng's mother to go home and see if Norma Ng was all right but said that Norma Ng's mother didn't go. She said that the following morning they left the house in Great George Street and parted. She said that as they parted she again advised Norma Ng's mother to go home and see to Norma Ng.

The friend said that later at about 3.30pm she was passing 14 Nelson Street when she saw a lot of people there. She said that when she went into the basement, she saw Norma Ng's mother who said, 'Oh, what's wrong with the baby? It's dead', and start to cry.

She said that about two minutes later she saw the police arrive.

The doctor that carried out the post-mortem said that Norma Ng had apparently been dead for between 8 and 18 hours and that death was due to asphyxia which he said might have followed prolonged crying. He added that Norma Ng might have been asphyxiated maliciously by someone, but that there was no evidence to show that that had been done.

Norma Ng's mother made a statement at the inquest in which she said that her three previous statements were not correct and said that she had left Norma Ng at about 8.30pm on the Friday night and had locked the door of her basement from the outside.

When the coroner summed up, he said that he found it difficult to understand how Norma Ng became asphyxiated and that in view of the evidence it was impossible to say that anything the mother had done had caused Norma Ng's death.

He then said that the only possible verdict that the jury could dare bring in was an open one noting that such a verdict would not preclude the police from taking any action or preferring any charge.

An open verdict was then returned.