HONG KONG - A woman who is accused of killing her daughter and dismembering her body made her first appearance in court on Wednesday (Dec 20), and claimed she did not understand the allegation against her.

Cao Yan, 37, when told that she was being charged with one count of murder shook her head repeatedly and mumbled: "Do not understand."

Cao, a single mother from China who worked as a masseuse at a Hong Kong nightclub to support her daughter and herself, was not represented by a lawyer, the South China Morning Post reported.

Acting principal magistrate So Wai Tak then patiently asked her: "Do you not understand the allegations or Chinese?"

Speaking Cantonese with a mainland accent, Cao replied: "The allegations."

But when asked if she knew what the term "murder" meant, Cao said she did.

When questioned further, Cao said: "There are so many unclear matters involved in this incident. I, myself, was quite confused about it."

Cao, who was arrested on Sunday night after allegedly murdering her daughter Ho Mei Ktt, stood behind the dock at West Kowloon Court, squinted and stared at the public gallery frequently.

She was not required to make a plea on Wednesday, the Post reported.

The 12-year-old daughter, who was from Cao's first marriage, was living and studying in Hong Kong. She was found chopped up into dozens of pieces and even had her face ripped off, the Chinese-language Ming Pao reported, citing sources.

It added that police had notified the girl's father, who lives in China, to come to Hong Kong to collect her remains.

The girl's dismembered body was discovered on Sunday night when police visited the subdivided flat in Mong Kok district she and her mother lived in for an unrelated complaint. A neighbour had made a police report after Cao refused to return a cellphone she had borrowed.

Police removed 12 bags of body parts from the 60 sq ft (5.54 sq m) flat. Some of the organs were believed to have been flushed down the toilet by Cao.

She was suspected to have been taking drugs and had used a chopper on her daughter's body after becoming delirious, Hong Kong media reports said on Tuesday.

Cao, who has gone through two failed marriages, is believed to be in the habit of taking methamphetamine, and police found a flask for consuming drugs, as well as condoms at the crime scene.

The prosecutors said on Wednesday that police needed more time for further investigations and asked for an adjournment, the Post reported.

The magistrate adjourned the case to Feb 28 next year.