A COUPLE who beat a three-year-old girl with a ruler for failing to do her homework were convicted of cruelty yesterday.
Law Cho-yi was beaten in the course of a month and left with ''horrendous'' bruises and scars.
Shing Chun-ping and Hung Mei-ling yesterday admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm and cruelty to a child.
Their attacks were discovered when a teacher saw scald marks on Cho-yi, who was put in hospital for two weeks.
Jeffrey Fenton, prosecuting in the District Court, said the couple were paid $2,700 in November 1992 to take care of Cho-yi for single mother Wai Sau-ying, a nightclub hostess.
Ms Wai, 27, often found bruises on her daughter when she visited but Hung said they were caused by accidents or ''minor physical punishments for misbehaving''.
A month later, on December 15, Cho-yi's kindergarten teacher Wu Fung-ming noticed scald marks and burns on Cho-yi's left leg and lower body. He took her to the Princess of Wales Hospital. She stayed for two weeks.
