Suspect from scandal-hit Hong Kong child protection group placed on wanted list by police after fleeing city
- Police source says childcare worker at facility in Mong Kok left for Australia in January after officers began arresting suspects in toddler abuse scandal
- Another suspect set to be arrested this week, currently self-isolating after catching Covid-19, insider adds
An employee from a scandal-hit child protection group has been placed on a wanted list after she fled Hong Kong before her alleged abuse of two toddlers could be discovered in surveillance footage reviewed by police, a force insider has said.
The woman in her 20s quit the Hong Kong Society for the Protection of Children (HKSPC) shortly after police made the first of many arrests in connection with the alleged abuse of toddlers at the group’s Mong Kok facility on December 22.
“The investigation showed she had left for Australia in January,” the source said, adding that she was suspected of being involved in at least two incidents of physical abuse at the children’s home.
Her departure came days before crime-squad officers discovered her alleged acts in the closed-circuit television footage submitted by the HKSPC, he said.
As part of the investigation, detectives from the Kowloon West regional crime unit have spent about two months reviewing 60,000 hours of surveillance footage.
“She has been placed on the list of people wanted by police, and she will face arrest if she returns to the city,” the source said.
Another childcare worker from the society was expected to be arrested later this week, according to the force insider.
“The woman has recently tested positive for Covid-19. Currently, she is undergoing home isolation,” the source added.
Since December 22, officers have arrested and charged 26 female HKSPC staff members on suspicion of abusing toddlers at the facility in Mong Kok, which employed over 40 childcare workers and housed more than 100 children.
The scandal emerged after police received reports that employees had allegedly abused several children by yanking their hair, hitting their heads, slapping their faces and tossing them on the floor.
The latest arrests on February 28, involving two suspects aged 23 and 53, occurred shortly after police completed their review of the footage provided by the HKSPC.
According to the force, 40 toddlers who were allegedly harmed at the site have been sent to hospital for check-ups and possible treatment.
The insider said police were likely to meet with Department of Justice officials to discuss whether those involved in multiple counts of physical abuse should be brought before the District Court, where they would face tougher penalties.
Cases involving the suspected mistreatment of children can be tried at different courts depending on their severity and complexity.
In Hong Kong, ill-treatment or neglect of a child carries a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment.
In January, the Social Welfare Department sent a team of social workers, nurses and personnel with experience in supervising childcare centres to monitor the daily operations of the site in Mong Kok.
