Brothers, aged 3 and 5, sent to Hong Kong hospital after being beaten at home

Two brothers aged three and five were sent to a Hong Kong public hospital after being beaten at home in the early hours of Friday.

Police arrested their mother’s boyfriend in connection with the assault case that happened at the family’s second-floor flat, located inside a 13-storey residential block on Nam Cheong Street, Sham Shui Po.

“Initial investigation showed the two boys were beaten during a dispute between their mother and her boyfriend over problems in the adults’ relationship,” a police source said.

He said the woman, 24, and her boyfriend, 32, had had an argument in which she accused him of having another girlfriend.

Emergency personnel were called in when the woman called police at 1.23am.

Each boy was found to have bruises on the face, police said, and both were taken conscious to Caritas Medical Centre for treatment.

Police arrested the man on suspicion of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. As of midday Friday, he was still being held for questioning at Sham Shui Po police station and had not been charged.

It is understood the woman is a divorced housewife who lives with her two sons. Her boyfriend works at a restaurant.

The source said police had not previously received any report of a family dispute or assault involving the family. Detectives from Sham Shui Po criminal investigation unit were handling the case.

Teach your child early about abuse, expert tells Hongkongers

According to official statistics, the Social Welfare Department handled 554 cases of child abuse in the first six months of this year. There were 947 reports in the whole of 2017.

Figures showed 47.7 per cent of the cases involved physical abuse and 67.3 per cent of the alleged abusers were one or both of the child’s parents.