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The infant was taken to Princess Margaret Hospital by his foster family. Photo: Felix Wong

Eight-month-old boy with bleeding in brain sparks child abuse probe in Hong Kong

Foster family took the infant to Princess Margaret Hospital due to vomiting

Police are investigating a child abuse case after medical staff found a blood clot in an eight-month-old boy’s brain at a public hospital in Hong Kong.

The case came to light on Wednesday after medical staff called police.

“Medical staff alerted police after an initial examination showed the boy was suffering from bleeding in the brain,” a police source said, adding that further tests were needed.

The boy’s foster family took the infant to Princess Margaret Hospital in Lai Chi Kok due to vomiting last Friday. The source said a blood clot was found in the infant’s brain during the examination.

He said it was possible the boy got the clot after being badly shaken.

The source said the boy was now in a stable condition in hospital.

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The boy had been in foster care since June and had lived with the family of three – a couple and their 30-year-old daughter – since November.

Crime squad officers from Kwai Tsing police district were handling the case. No one has been arrested.

Separately, a woman, 40, was arrested after leaving her three-year-old daughter unattended at home in Cheung Sha Wan on Wednesday.

The case came to light at about 11.30am when the girl played with her mother’s mobile phone and called her kindergarten telling staff she was alone at home. Kindergarten staff then called police.

The mother returned to their home in Peony House, So Uk Estate, shortly after police and firefighters arrived. According to police, the woman became emotional and bit two officers on the hand before being subdued.

A police spokeswoman said the girl was unhurt and taken to Caritas Medical Centre for a check-up.

According to official statistics, the Social Welfare Department handled 704 newly reported child abuse cases in the first nine months of last year. There were 892 reports in the whole of 2016.

Figures showed 39.3 per cent of last year’s cases involved physical abuse and 59.7 per cent of the alleged abusers were parents.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Foster mum arrested as child abuse suspected
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