Abuse-case baby in critical condition

A nine-month-old baby girl suspected to have been abused by a 33-year-old nanny employed under the administration's child care project remains critical as of yesterday at the Tuen Mun Hospital.

The nanny, Chung, was arrested on Saturday and remains in police custody.

Chung had received training from the charity, Yan Oi Tong, under the administration's Neighbourhood Support Child Care Project, and it was her first child care service under the scheme, which pays HK$20 an hour, the Social Welfare Department said.

It is understood that the baby girl has a four-year-old sister, and her parents, both aged 35, work as a swimming coach and a teacher. The family of four live together with a domestic helper in a flat in Affluence Garden in Tuen Mun.

The parents hired Chung via Yan Oi Tong this month, as their domestic helper was on leave for a month.

The father would bring her to Chung's place in Tuen Mun in the morning, and bring her back in the evening.

But on Thursday afternoon, Chung claimed that she found the toddler twitching after bathing her and called the parents.

The parents found her unconscious and immediately rushed her to the hospital, where doctors found blood clots in her brain and performed emergency surgery.

They called in the police after suspecting abuse.

After a preliminary investigation, police believed the baby girl was treated inappropriately by Chung, who was arrested for "ill-treatment or neglect by those in charge of the child or young person" in the early hours of Saturday.

The toddler's aunts said the domestic helper who was on leave "has been taking good care" of the baby.

"Of course the baby girl's parents' hearts are broken now, even for us our hearts are broken," an aunt said.

She criticized Chung for not calling the police when she found the baby was twitching but called the parents instead.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an event, Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han said the SWD has requested Yan Oi Tong to submit a report on the incident.

"I believe Yan Oi Tong has offered training and instructions in accordance with our requirements, but since the police have been investigating the case, it is inappropriate [for us] to further comment, and it is too early to make any assumptions," Sun said, adding that the Neighbourhood Support Child Care Project has been implemented for years.

The department, he said, has established training regulations.

But Tik Chi-yuen , who represents the social welfare sector in the Legislative Council, said there is a need to "professionalize" community nannies and urged authorities to enhance the monitoring mechanism.

Currently, "the training is only nominal, lasting about two to three hours. I think this is only a brief introduction, not training," Tik said.

"Nowadays, children's behavior and emotions are more complicated than before. In addition, the relevant legislation on child protection will be introduced soon, so there should be a comprehensive training course," he explained.

The project was launched in Hong Kong in October 2011, where the SWD works with different charities to offer either home-based child care services or center-based care groups to children.

Yan Oi Tong has been the program's operator in Tuen Mun.