By South China Morning Post | Created at 2025-04-05 10:06:37 | Updated at 2025-04-05 21:47:13
11 hours ago
The death of Leung Nga-sze at the hands of her father has raised concerns about Hong Kong’s foster care system, with the infant’s murder taking place just months after she was returned to her mother.
Lau Kai-ping, 42, was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison on March 26, with Madam Justice Anna Lai Yuen-kee saying the mother’s decision to allow the father, who had a history of violence, to live with the child “indirectly caused the tragedy to happen”.
During the month-long trial, the court heard that several government social workers had handled Leung’s case, as well as an evaluation of whether the mother, Helen Leung, was fit to take care of Nga-sze.
Social welfare lawmaker Tik Chi-yuen said the case “saddened” him.
“This [tragedy] happened, even though many social workers had worked with the child. It was very unfortunate,” he said.
Tik said social workers involved in assessing Leung had done their part in checking whether the mother was fit to take care of a child, but “neglected that there was an abuser in the family”.
