Letters | Hong Kong must send child abusers the right message by imposing tougher penalties

Readers discuss the three-month jail sentence given in a case where a child died, political cartoons in a democratic society, the gap in animal protection in mainland China, and the outrage over wild boar kills in Hong Kong

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A police offer leaves the village house where a 14-month-old girl died after her parents put her through an exorcism ritual, on June 4 last year. Photo: Jelly Tse

Published: 11:30am, 24 May 2023

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I was saddened to read the media reports about the 14-month-old girl who died after her parents performed a “ritual exorcism” in a Kam Tin village house in June last year.

The full facts were disclosed when the criminal case was heard recently at the Fanling Magistrates’ Court. The court heard that firefighters had to be called to break in, only to discover the girl in a bedroom buried under a pile of diapers, having been dead for some time.

I am shocked that the couple received a sentence of only three months in jail.

Any person who ill-treats or neglects a child under their care is subject to a maximum imprisonment of 10 years on indictment. However, despite the overwhelming evidence, this couple were not indicted before the District Court. Instead, they were put before a magistrate who can in general impose a maximum sentence of only two years.

The primary duty of parents is to take care of their children, ensuring their safety, health and well-being. Whatever the father’s psychiatric problems and misguided religious beliefs in this case, they are no excuse.