Boy, 12, allegedly abandoned in Hong Kong hospital by mainland Chinese mother returns to family, welfare authorities say
- The boy was found wandering alone in Kwong Wah Hospital in July
- Social welfare authorities say staff will maintain close contact with family to ensure he is being cared for
A 12-year-old boy allegedly abandoned by his mainland Chinese mother in a Hong Kong hospital last month was returned to his family under a court order, the city’s social welfare authorities revealed on Friday.
“The social worker of the Social Welfare Department has formulated [an] appropriate welfare plan for the boy,” the department said in a statement.
“At present, the boy has been restored to the care of his family in accordance with the court order.”
The department added its social workers would maintain close contact with the family to ensure he was being cared for.
The case emerged on July 21 when the boy, surnamed Chen, was found wandering alone in the accident and emergency department of Kwong Wah Hospital in Yau Ma Tei.
Chen, who was born in Hong Kong and has a local identity card, was sent to the Tuen Mun Children and Juvenile Home as police searched for his parents, who are both from the mainland.
Preliminary investigation by police revealed that the boy was instructed to tell hospital staff that he had a cough and diarrhoea, and then inform a nurse that he had been abandoned after the consultation.
Soon after the boy was found, the force contacted his mother who had already returned to Henan province. A source said a police probe indicated that she had abandoned her son in the hopes he might receive a “better education” in the city.
City leader John Lee Ka-chiu condemned the mother’s behaviour, and warned that the boy’s parents could face legal consequences for abandoning him.
The 37-year-old mother was arrested and charged with ill treatment or neglect of a child when she returned to Hong Kong on July 29.
She was granted bail by a city court two days later but was ordered to surrender her travel documents until her trial resumed on September 11.
