‘Angry and heartbroken’: Hong Kong welfare chief orders investigation as 2 formally charged in child abuse chase
- Secretary for Labour and Welfare Law Chi-kwong says Social Welfare Department will look into whether staff is inadequately monitored, warns accused can be deregistered
- In appearance at Kwun Tong Court, one of two defendants charged on Sunday weeps as allegations against her are read out
Saying the incident had left him angry and heartbroken, Secretary for Labour and Welfare Law Chi-kwong on Sunday took to his official blog to say he had demanded the probe, which would also look into inadequate monitoring of staff at the Hong Kong Society for the Protection of Children (HKSPC).
Law’s remarks came just days after police revealed that three employees of the HKSPC, a long-established child protection group in Hong Kong, had been arrested over the abuse and neglect of at least 18 toddlers, including yanking their hair, hitting their heads, slapping their faces and tossing them on the floor.
The three women face up to a decade behind bars. Two of them were taken to Kwun Tong Court on Sunday morning where they were each charged with assault by those in charge of a child. They were identified only by their initials to protect the victims’ identities.
The duo, aged 44 and 23 respectively, stood accused of wilfully assaulting two three-year-old boys at the childcare facility in a manner likely to cause them unnecessary suffering. The older of the two defendants put her head down and wept as the allegations were read to her in the dock.
