27th employee from scandal-hit Hong Kong child protection group appears in court over accusations of abuse
- The 32-year-old woman is accused of hitting a two-year-old girl at Mong Kok residential home run by Hong Kong Society for the Protection of Children
- Police have so far arrested 32 people and charged 27 of them since scandal emerged in late December
A 32-year-old employee of a scandal-hit child protection group in Hong Kong became the 27th person to appear in court on Thursday over accusations of abusing toddlers in their care.
The woman was among six suspects rounded up in a series of arrests over the past two days in connection with the alleged abuse of toddlers at the Mong Kok residential home run by the Hong Kong Society for the Protection of Children (HKSPC).
Since the scandal came to light in late December, the force had so far arrested 32 people and charged 27 of them. Officers also identified a total of 40 toddlers who were allegedly harmed, and who had since been sent to hospital for check-ups.
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The latest defendant, accused of hitting a two-year-old girl at the care centre on December 12 last year, appeared in Kowloon City Court on Thursday morning and was granted bail of HK$10,000 (US$1,280).
The court also ordered the woman to surrender her travel documents and report to police twice a week. She is banned from visiting the Mong Kong facility and engaging in any childcare-related work.
The case has been adjourned to April 25.
The other five suspects, aged 27 to 59, were arrested in Mong Kok and have been released on bail pending further investigation. They have to report to the force in late April.
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.
The Mong Kok facility provides support for children aged up to three who are abandoned, orphaned or lack care because of family problems.
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.
A force insider told the Post earlier this week that police were likely to meet 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.
3 more staff from Hong Kong children’s home arrested over abuse allegations
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.
The HKSPC, an established child welfare group, runs centres across Hong Kong, serving about 3,000 children up to 16 years old and their families.
Its ex-director, Susan Choy So Suk-yin, who resigned from her position following the incident, had also left her role as a non-official member in the Commission on Children.
