Tougher abuse laws urged to stem rise in home-alone cases

A weakening of family ties has led to a rise in cases of home-alone children, along with other types of child abuse and negligence, children's rights advocates say.

In light of recent incidents involving children left at home alone, they are calling for a revision of childcare policies and effective laws against abandoning children.

'It is worrying that all kinds of child abuse have been on the rise in recent years,' said Priscilla Lui Tsang Sun-kai, director of Against Child Abuse.

Two children left alone at home suffered serious burns in a fire inside a locked flat in Tuen Mun on August 26. A 24-day-old baby boy was bitten by rats after being left alone in a tin hut in Sha Tin on August 31.

Ms Lui pointed to 'weakening family bonds' as a main factor behind the worrying trend. 'Perhaps the widening wealth gap has also caused more abuses,' she said.

But she said the public had a high level of tolerance for child abuse, resulting in such cases being severely under-reported. 'For every reported case, there may be 99 unreported ones,' she said.

The group yesterday launched an awareness campaign in Tuen Mun, where several shocking cases of child abuse emerged recently. Led by social workers, children wearing signs reading 'Don't leave me home' walked around the town centre to raise awareness of the issue.