Child abuse has no place in our society
Child abuse is a grave matter and, given the death of a five-year-old girl, the authorities must learn from the systemic failure that led to such a tragedy
Hong Kong is in shock as yet another horrific case of child abuse has come to light. This time, a five-year old girl died after what is suspected to be long-running physical abuse at home. Her eight-year-old brother also suffered from malnutrition and multiple injuries. The father and the stepmother have been charged with murder.
Since then, at least four other suspected abuse cases have been reported. The murder case shall be a matter for the courts to decide. Meanwhile, some broader issues warrant closer attention. There appear to be gaps in the existing mechanism of detection and support.
In the alleged murder case, a court heard that the siblings were subject to physical abuse on an almost daily basis.Why, then, would the kindergarten the girl attended have failed to notice? Was it not suspicious when the family stopped sending the girl to school for a while and eventually withdrew her altogether, saying she was to be given home schooling instead?
The brother’s situation is no less disturbing. His primary school did notice bruises on the boy and claimed to have immediately referred the case to the government for follow-up action. But the Social Welfare Department denied handling the case. It turned out that the school had just phoned the department.