A four-year-old boy is suing the man he says destroyed his life before it had begun. Chan Wai-yin was still in the womb when the car in which his mother was a passenger smashed into a lamppost on April 5, 1992, a Supreme Court writ said. His mother, Ho Kit-yee, was in the front passenger's seat. Wai-yin now suffers from severe cerebral palsy. Ms Ho and her husband signed the child over to the Government in mid-1993. Now four, he has spent almost all his life in hospital. 'We want to see if we can find any interested overseas parents who want to adopt the child,' Social Welfare spokesman Donald Lam said. 'But we can't be too optimistic, given his mental condition.' Ms Ho was taken to Queen Mary Hospital after the crash, but the damage had been done. Doctors discovered the foetus was in severe distress and an emergency Caesarean operation was performed. When Wai-yin entered the world he was limp and blue. His heartbeat was abnormally slow and he suffered a convulsion within hours of his birth. The infant had been diagnosed with severe cerebral palsy by the time he was transferred to Duchess of Kent Children's Hospital 11/2 months later. He lived there for three years, before moving to Caritas Medical Centre. At the age of three years and three months, he had the mental age of a seven-month-old baby. Now, four years and four months, he has yet to be toilet trained. His sight and hearing are impaired and he cannot walk without help. The boy, who has been raised in government care, is now suing for damages through the Director of Social Welfare. The department yesterday filed a Supreme Court writ blaming driver Yan Yung-fai for the child's condition. The writ said Mr Yan was speeding when the car swerved out of control. The day was wet, and Mr Yan was not paying enough attention to the road, it said. When the car began hurtling towards the lamppost, he put on the brakes too late, or not at all, the document concluded. The department is asking for 'special damages' of $24,000, plus monthly payments of $830 to cover the cost of nappies and hospital maintenance fees.