A baby boy has died mysteriously in Tai Kok Tsui.
At nearly 2 am today (13th), a 3-month-old baby boy was comatose in the west block of Fugui Building, No. 21 Bowen Street, and was confirmed dead after being sent to the hospital.
Because the baby boy was covered in bruises and burns, police suspect there is something else going on in the incident.
After investigation, detectives from the Mong Kok District Crime Squad arrested a couple caring for a baby boy on suspicion of "murder".
In recent years, there have been many cases of child abuse in Hong Kong that have caused a sensation in the city, especially the child abuse case of "Tongleju" in 2021 and the murder of a 5-year-old girl in Tuen Mun in 2018.
A review of data from the Social Welfare Department showed that there were 1,367 new reports of child abuse in Hong Kong last year, an increase of more than 45% over 2020. The most abusers were the parents of the child victims, followed by classmates, friends and strangers.
In view of the seriousness of some child abuse cases, a judge once pointed out that the maximum sentence for child abuse crimes is only 10 years' imprisonment, which is not ideal and fails to reflect the seriousness of the crimes, and believes that the relevant laws should be reformed.
▼Tai Kok Tsui Baby Boy Murder▼
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▼Details of the 5-year-old girl's case▼
In January 2018, a 5-year-old girl was abused and killed in Tuen Mun. A pair of 5-year-old and 8-year-old siblings were abused by their father and stepmother for 5 months. The 5-year-old girl was abused to death. The case attracted the attention of the whole city.
The forensic doctor found more than 100 old and new wounds on the girl's body, including multiple bruises on her head. She eventually died of septicaemia due to bacterial infection of the wounds.
Father Chen Haiping and stepmother Huang Xiaotong were convicted of murder by the High Court and sentenced to life in prison.
The three appealed against the ruling earlier, but were immediately dismissed by the Court of Appeal, and all upheld the original judgment.
Judge Xue Weicheng of the Court of Appeal mentioned that when he handled another child abuse case in 2018, he had pointed out that the current maximum sentence for child abuse crime was only 10 years' imprisonment, which was not ideal and failed to reflect the seriousness of the crime. He believed that the relevant legislation should reform.
The representative of the Department of Justice responded that the Law Reform Commission had advocated new legislation in the report "Cause or Allow Death or Serious Harm of a Child or Vulnerable Adult" in September last year, and the revision was still in progress, adding that it would report to the department.
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Child abuse cases in Hong Kong in recent years:
In June 2022, a 31-year-old man ordered his son to stand with a gel coat hanger in a village house in Yuen Long. He was emotional and hit his son's back and hands with the gel coat hanger several times, causing his son to scream in shock.
The video was later circulated online, and the police arrested the defendant in June this year on charges of "abuse or neglect of a child or juvenile in his custody".
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On December 22, 2021, a child abuse case was revealed at the “Tong Le Ju” under the Hong Kong Society for the Protection of Children. A citizen complained that a staff member abused children in the outdoor playground of the institution.
The police immediately launched an investigation, seized and reviewed CCTV footage, and found that some children were abused by staff members by beating their heads, pulling their hair, slapping their hands, hitting the ground, or "burying a wall".
After repeated investigations, a total of 34 people were arrested in this case, suspected of abusing or neglecting children or juveniles under their care, involving a total of 40 children.
Two of the defendants were sentenced to 4 months and 7 months in prison earlier, and the remaining cases have entered judicial proceedings.
From January 2019 to June 20, 2019, a cohabiting couple took care of a 22-month-old baby girl Heiley, a 22-month-old baby girl surnamed Ke, for a friend at their residence in Xinsheng Village, Hsung Shuiqiao. During the period, they abused each other, including slapping and tying the baby girl with chains. After the autopsy found that the baby girl weighed only 8 kilograms and had about 70 wounds on her body.
The baby girl also had multiple deep bruises on the head, subarachnoid hemorrhage and cerebral edema.
The 36-year-old female defendant Ke Jingwen and the 33-year-old male defendant Xiao Guowei pleaded guilty to one count of child abuse. The two defendants were eventually sentenced to 5 years and 4 months in prison in the High Court.
From November 1 to December 1, 2017, a lesbian couple took care of their 4-year-old daughter in a unit at Fa Yuen Street, Mong Kok, and abused the girl. The girl pinched her nose until she cried for forgiveness. After being arrested, she confessed that she had pinched the girl's lower body and lit a lighter and placed it between the girl's thighs. After the girl was sent to the hospital, she was found to have a cerebral hematoma and underwent brain surgery immediately. Fortunately, she was finally able to regain consciousness.
The female defendants, Chen Tianyou and Feng Jiabao, were finally imprisoned for 34 and 32 months respectively.
In 2015, the seven-year-old girl "Lin Lin" suffered from inappropriate treatment for a long time, causing her skin to fester in many places, and finally her brain was permanently damaged due to lack of oxygen, and she turned into a vegetative state.
Lin Lin's mother Wang Rongwen and her ex-husband Ling Yaozhong were convicted of neglecting children and obstructing justice, and were sentenced to 15 years and 3 months in prison and 4 years and 6 months respectively.
The issue of child abuse is sounding the alarm.
(file picture)
Tai Kok Tsui Murder Case｜The baby boy had multiple bruises and burns. The biological mother was handed over to the arrested couple at the end of last month. Tai Kok Tsui Murder Case｜The baby boy was taken care of by a family of three who lived in Tai Kok Tsui. The 3-month-old baby boy was in a coma with scars Sent to hospital for murder and arrest, 31-year-old man and 31-year-old father, 31-year-old boy, beating 4-year-old boy, accused of child abuse
