Hong Kong mother arrested for allegedly abandoning daughter at playground
- Two-year-old girl found alone at Mong Kok playground on Friday night, with mother detained next morning
A 31-year-old mother has been arrested for allegedly abandoning her daughter at a Hong Kong playground.
Police detained the woman on Saturday after receiving a report the previous night over a two-year-old girl found alone at Sai Yee Street Children’s Playground in Mong Kok.
According to a source, the mother is a Chinese national with Hong Kong residency and a suspected drug addict.
The Post has learned the mother said under police caution that she had left her daughter in the care of a friend but was unable to provide any further information.
A woman noticed the girl playing alone at the playground on Friday evening at around 7pm and spent half an hour looking for her parents but to no avail.
She then brought the girl to the Mong Kok Police Station to make a report, but the girl was unable to reveal any information about herself.
She was taken to Kwong Wah Hospital in Yau Ma Tei and preliminary checks showed she was in healthy condition with no injuries.
The force issued an announcement at 2.23am with details of the girl’s appearance to locate her next of kin, as she was not carrying an identity document.
The mother was arrested at 4am on Saturday when she went to Mong Kok Police Station in search of her daughter.
Police detained her on suspicion of ill-treatment or neglect of a child in her care.
The Social Welfare Department said it would follow up the case.
