Three amendments proposed amidst debate over penalties on mandatory reporting of child abuse

The Labour and Welfare Bureau proposed three amendments to the mandatory reporting of child abuse bill, which included a two-tier penalty system where childcare professionals will only face imprisonment if the circumstances are grave and result in serious harm to the child. 

This came as the Legislative Council's Bills Committee met on Monday to scrutinize the bill that stipulates 25 categories of professionals, including social workers, doctors, and teachers as mandated individuals to report severe cases of child abuse. 

Regarding the lawmaker's doubts about the severity of the penalty—a maximum of three months imprisonment and a fine of HK$50,000—the under-secretary for Labour and Welfare, Ho Kai-ming, said a two-tier penalty system will be implemented to define only those involved in severe cases will face imprisonment. 

An annex will be added to the bill, listing the elements of serious harm and specifying which injuries constitute severe harm to a child's life or safety. 

Ho stressed that the annex could clearly define the definition of serious harm, increase the certainty of reporting thresholds, and enable professionals to identify cases of severe child abuse that must be reported.

He further indicated that a new disclaimer clause would also be added to the bill to allow professionals to defend themselves for not reporting a child abuse case for legitimate reasons. 

Roundtable lawmaker Michael Tien Puk-sun disagreed with the government's proposed penalties, considering them too lenient. 

He pointed out that the maximum prison terms in Australia and the United States are 3 to 5 years, respectively. "Even in California, there is a minimum of six months of imprisonment," Tien added. 

Tien urged the authorities to consider raising the penalties to one to three years.

Social welfare sector lawmaker Tik Chi-yuen supports introducing a two-tier penalty mechanism, as it will be efficient in protecting children from abuse and, at the same time, ease the childcarers' concerns.