Mother and friend charged with abandoning tot in playground

Eunice Lam

A 31-year-old unemployed woman and her 42-year-old Indonesian friend were charged with negligence in the care of a child after they allegedly abandoned the woman's 30-month-old daughter in a Mong Kok playground.

The case came to light when passersby spotted the toddler wandering alone at the Sai Yee Street Children's Playground last Friday evening.

The girl, wearing a beige vest, light-blue shorts and pink sandals, was brought to the Mong Kok Police Station but officers were unable to identify her as she was too young to provide her information.

The uninjured child was then taken to Kwong Wah Hospital for observation.

In the early hours of Saturday the police sought help from the public to locate the girl's family.

The mother later approached officers and claimed to have left her daughter in the care of a friend.

The mother, identified only by her initials TCK, was then arrested on suspicion of child abuse. It is understood that the mother suffers from drug addiction.

The mother's Indonesian friend, KH, who also claimed to be unemployed, was arrested and accused of the same offense. KH was also charged with overstaying her visitor visa, which had expired on November 29, 2022.

Neither the mother nor her friend entered a plea at the Sha Tin Magistrates' Court yesterday. Magistrate Andrew Mok Tze-chung denied both defendants' bail applications and ordered them to be remanded in custody until their next court appearance on August 12th.

The case has been adjourned to the West Kowloon Magistrates' Court, where the police will continue their investigation, including searching for other people involved who they have yet to question and reviewing surveillance footage.

The prosecution has not ruled out the possibility of adding additional charges against the defendants.

The Social Welfare Department has been following up on the case.

eunice.lam@singtaonewscorp.com