Baby with head injury sparks child-abuse investigation in Hong Kong
- Five-month-old boy taken to Princess Margaret Hospital in Lai Chi Kok
- Staff called police after infant was taken to them for treatment
Hong Kong police are investigating a suspected case of child abuse after a baby was taken to a public hospital with a head injury on Thursday.
Staff from Princess Margaret Hospital in Lai Chi Kok contacted officers after a five-month-old boy was brought in for treatment.
As of 1.30pm, a police spokesman said no arrest had been made.
Separately, police were looking for the parents of a girl who was found wandering on a street in Tai Po on Thursday lunchtime.
The child, thought to be about six years old, was seen wandering outside a Chinese medicine clinic in Kwong Fuk Road soon after 1pm.
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According to police, an employee from the clinic called officers after seeing the girl outside the shop for more than an hour.
The spokesman said the girl had suffered no obvious injuries, but could not tell police where her parents were.
In Hong Kong, ill treatment or neglect of a child carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail.
According to statistics from the Social Welfare Department, there were 1,006 newly reported child abuse cases in 2019. Among the 1,006 reports, 63.2 per cent involved the victims’ parents, while 42.7 per cent were related to physical abuse.
The number of child abuse cases hit a 14-year high in 2018 when the department’s child protection registry recorded 1,064 new incidents.
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