Domestic worker charged with child abuse after 23-month-old girl scalded

A domestic worker has been charged with child abuse after a Hong Kong family alleged to police that their 23-month-old girl had been scalded by hot water while in her care.

Khumaeroh, a 30-year-old domestic worker from Indonesia, appeared at the Tuen Mun Magistrates’ Court on Friday morning, Ming Pao reported. Many Indonesians go by one name.

Tuen Mun Law Courts Building. Photo: WikiCommons.

She was charged with one count of “ill-treatment or neglect by those who have custody, charge or care of child or young person,” commonly known as child abuse.

The defendant was assisted by an Indonesian interpreter in the courtroom. The defence made no application for bail, and the defendant was remanded in custody pending trial.

Police said in a statement on Thursday that a foreign female worker was arrested earlier that day, after officers received a report from a father the day before.

The man said both of his young daughter’s hands were badly scalded by hot water in the family’s village house in Yuen Long. The girl’s parents suspected their child had been abused by their domestic helper while they were out at work.

The child suffered second-degree burns and was sent to Tuen Mun Hospital for treatment, where she is currently being kept for observation.

An offence of ill-treatment or neglect by those who have custody, charge or care of child or young person carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.