Hong Kong mother admits abandoning intellectually disabled daughter in mall
Woman admits she left 13-year-old girl in mall, but vows in court to become a good parent
A single mother who abandoned her intellectually disabled daughter after the 13-year-old used her mobile phone to call 999 multiple times, made a pledge to a court yesterday that she would become a good mother.
Cheng Man-ka, 35, who left her daughter at the Metro City Plaza I in Tseung Kwan O on November 23 last year, pleaded guilty at Kowloon City Court to abandonment of a child.
In mitigation, her lawyer said that after Cheng left the girl inside the Kalok restaurant in the mall, she returned about half an hour later to check on her, although she did not take her away.
The counsel said the girl was sent to a children's home last year after she threw objects out of their apartment window in a Sha Tin public housing estate.
Since the incident, the defendant would take her daughter home occasionally, the court heard.
On one visit the daughter used her mobile phone to call 999 at least six times in 25 minutes.
Firemen and police responded to the emergency calls from Cheng's apartment. The situation was only resolved when Cheng, a CSSA scheme claimant, showed them her daughter's medical documents.
The teenager has lower than average scores on her senses, cognitive skills and memory indexes, the court heard.
Cheng did not fully intend to abandon her daughter, the counsel added, citing the location of the mall, which was near her daughter's new home.
But deputy magistrate Peter Hui Shiu-keung said: "[Cheng] has been granted assistance from the Social Welfare Department, yet on the spur of a faulty thought, she decided to abandon her child in a public place."
He stressed the offence was serious and pointed out the girl could have met undesirable people on the streets or been involved in an accident.
After viewing photographs of Cheng's chaotic home, Hui also questioned how Cheng could be a responsible mother.
Cheng's youngest daughter, who is four years old, now lives with a foster family.
The magistrate adjourned sentencing to June 23.