Lawyer says no visible injury needed in abuse case
HK01 · 1 SOURCESabout 2 hours ago5 MIN
Summary
A video circulated on Monday, 6 October, showing a schoolgirl in Fu Tai Estate struggling to carry multiple bags of beer and a heavy schoolbag while an adult man watched nearby. Barrister Luk Wai-hung (陸偉雄) said the conduct could fall within the offence of child abuse under section 27 of the Offences Against the Person Ordinance because the law focuses on whether the treatment was likely to cause unnecessary suffering or injury to health. He said visible wounds are not required for conviction if the conduct was objectively likely to harm the child. Police later arrested the girl’s 38-year-old stepfather and 32-year-old mother, and the case is being followed up by the New Territories North Regional Child Abuse Investigation Unit and the Social Welfare Department
Key Points
- Luk Wai-hung said section 27 covers assault, ill-treatment, neglect, abandonment and exposure of a child or young person, with a maximum 10-year jail term on indictment
- Based on the footage, he estimated each side carried about 7.5 litres of beer, for roughly 15 kilograms in total, excluding the heavy schoolbag
- He said forcing a physically slight 11-year-old girl to carry such extreme weight over a long distance was objectively very likely to cause unnecessary suffering or health damage
- Luk said the legal threshold also requires intention, and the available footage and follow-up information suggested the parents had actively required the girl to do it
- He said the stepfather’s claimed “muscle training” explanation would be hard to sustain because courts assess reasonableness by objective facts, not a defendant’s personal viewpoint
Why It Matters
The case matters because it underlines that Hong Kong child-abuse law can turn on the likelihood of harm, not only on whether bruises or other visible injuries are found afterward. It also shows that conduct framed by adults as discipline or training may still be judged criminal if the method is extreme and objectively unreasonable