- Police vow to ramp up investigative workforce by up to 40 percent in preparation for a potential rise in child abuse cases after the introduction of mandatory reporting law
- Force says return to schools following end of pandemic means more crimes reported by teachers and social workers, but risks of incidents among students also rising
The force on Wednesday also said it was ramping up its investigative workforce by up to 40 percent to prepare for an expected rise in child abuse cases once the city introduced legislation mandating such crimes be reported by health professionals and educators.
According to police, 716 physical and sexual abuse cases involving children were recorded between January and June of this year, up 29.2 percent over the same period in 2022.
Noting that about 45 percent of cases were reported by teachers and social workers, Kong said: “With the resumption of school life, we observed that more cases of physical abuse reported were due to parenting issues.”
Coming to light in December 2021, the scandal involved 34 staff members at the Hong Kong Society for the Protection of Children who were later arrested on suspicion of abusing at least 40 children at the group’s residential home in Kowloon.
The suspects were accused of yanking the victims’ hair, hitting them on their heads, slapping the toddlers, and tossing them to the floor.
One of the childcare workers, a 64-year-old woman, was jailed for 2½ years after she admitted assaulting six boys, three girls, and two toddlers in late 2021.
The figures released on Wednesday also showed the number of physical abuse cases involving children had risen to 359 during the first six months of 2023, reflecting a rise of 25.5 percent from last year.
Among those incidents, 268 involved family members, and 17 were linked to domestic helpers.
The force also recorded a spike in sexual abuse cases targeting minors, jumping 33.2 percent to 357. The data showed 246 incidents involved indecent assault, an 80 percent rise from the first half of 2022.
Kong said many of the incidents were reported by students attending in-person activities at schools.
“Out of sexual curiosity, sometimes [students] will have inappropriate bodily contact that might form some allegations of indecent assault,” he said.
The force also observed that children continued to be targeted by online sexual predators despite the return to classrooms.
“After the outbreak, children and teens have become more reliant on online channels for meeting new friends,” he said. “As they meet these online friends alone, there’s a danger of falling into the trap of being sexually assaulted.”
Following public outcry over the scandal in late 2021, authorities in June of this year proposed a bill requiring health professionals, educators, and social workers to report suspected child abuse cases.
Kong said police would reinforce each of the city’s regional child abuse investigation teams with an additional sergeant and three extra constables before the end of the year, accounting for an overall workforce increase of up to 40 percent.
A special task force set up in July 2022 to handle such cases also aimed to increase staff numbers from 200 to 230 over the same period to cope with an expected rise in reports.
Police will also run a public awareness campaign targeting parents and children for a third year. The initiative will launch in September, including a metaverse exhibition and “Dress Casual Day” at schools and workplaces.
Ill-treatment or neglect of a child in Hong Kong carries a maximum jail sentence of 10 years under the Offences against the Person Ordinance.