Mom arrested after three kids left at home on their own

A 36-year-old mother was arrested on suspicion of child abuse yesterday after her nine-year-old son called police saying their mom had left him and his two siblings, aged two and six, at home in Tung Chung.

The siblings live with their parents at Hong Yat House, Yat Tung Estate, but the couple got into an argument while discussing a family outing.

The mother surnamed Fung was so upset she left the house crying to clear her mind, while the father left home for work.

About an hour later, the nine-year-old son - worried about his mother's well-being - reported her absence to the police.

Fung was arrested on susoicion of ill-treatment or neglect of her children. The boy, his six-year-old sister and two-year-old brother are now with their grandmother, and the Lantau North Divisional Criminal Investigation Team is following up on the case.

Meanwhile, Against Child Abuse director Donna Wong Chui-ling said on radio yesterday that imprisonment is a reasonable penalty for failure to report serious child abuse cases.

This came as a Legislative Council bills committee meets today to scrutinize the government's mandatory reporting of child abuse bill amid lawmakers casting concerns over the "hefty" penalties.

Wong cited the "highest record" of over 1,400 serious child abuse cases in Hong Kong last year.

The rising number of cases is possibly due to heightened awareness in reporting and improved child abuse identification within professional sectors, she said.

However, this may only be the tip of the iceberg, as she expressed concern that severe cases may be hidden in the community.

The government has proposed legislation to mandate the reporting of child abuse, which specifies that professionals in 25 industries such as social workers, doctors and teachers, have a legal obligation to report child abuse.

Some legislators raised concerns about technical difficulties in enforcing the law and recommended not setting the penalties too high.

Wong said imprisonment is a reasonable penalty for such severe cases.

"We do not want to mitigate the penalties, as it would weaken the deterrent effect and the effectiveness of the law," she added.

Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han told the media yesterday that the work on the mandatory reporting of the child abuse bill is nearing completion, with the proposed maximum penalty of three months in jail and HK$50,000 fine.

Sun said the purpose of the bill is to create a safety net for vulnerable children and impose deterrent penalties for severe cases of deliberate wrongdoing.

For less serious cases, he expressed confidence that the government and the bills committee can find solutions that uphold the original intent while addressing and alleviating industry concerns.

Gary Wong Chi-him, a non-official member of the Commission on Children, said penalties should not be too low and questioned whether society would accept fines without imprisonment.

He suggested the government accurately define "serious harm" in the primary legislation.

Child abuse cases generally fall into four categories: physical abuse, sexual abuse, mental abuse and neglect.

Wong indicated that the first two categories are well-defined, with preparations underway for handling the third category, which presents a greater challenges.

adelyn.lau@singtaonewscorp.com