Mother of three-month-old girl who died in Hong Kong village arrested for manslaughter
Search under way for father, who a police source says was at home with the child but had gone out by the time his wife returned
A woman in her 20s was arrested on Thursday for suspected manslaughter after her three-month-old daughter was found dead at home in the New Territories.
Police meanwhile launched a search for the baby’s 40-year-old father.
The baby was believed to have been left on her own for over a day in a village house in Tung Chan Wai, off San Tin Tsuen Road in Lok Ma Chau, police said.
She was found face down in bed by her mother when she returned home shortly after noon on Thursday. The village is near the Lok Ma Chau immigration control point.
“The baby girl was certified dead by paramedics at the scene,” a police spokesman said. No injury marks were found on the girl. The case had initially been treated as one of child cruelty.
According to a police source, the baby’s father had been at home with her but had gone by the time his wife returned.
It is believed the mother left home on Tuesday night after a dispute with her husband.
Superintendent Jackson Mak Pui-yuen said on Thursday evening police were still looking for the baby’s father in connection with the case.
Mak said initial investigation showed the baby had been left unattended at home for more than 24 hours.
An autopsy will be performed to ascertain the cause of the baby’s death.
Mak said there had been no reports of domestic violence involving the family.
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She told police she had gone to the neighbouring mainland city of Shenzhen to find her husband and had asked her mother-in-law to look after the twins.
But the 50-year-old mother-in-law called police, saying the teenager had left home before she arrived. No injuries were found on the boys.
Days later, officers arrested the mother-in-law on suspicion of filing a false police report.
The grandmother told local media she had called police because she wanted to teach her son a lesson.
