Commissioner of Police Siu Chak-yee said on Friday that the city has recorded 795 child abuse cases between January and August this year, similar to the figure from last year during the same period.

However, he said the severity of these identified child abuse cases has grown, which has saddened and troubled our society.

In response to the phenomenon, the police chief said the force has been reviewing and improving its handling of suspected child abuse cases, including establishing a Vulnerable Witness Support Cadre and speeding up the investigation of some 20 severe child abuse cases.

Meanwhile, Siu noted that many child abuse cases could be prevented through early identification, but the interventions always came late due to bystanders not reporting and stopping the abuse.

He called on authorities to act faster on the child abuse reporting law to offer children better protection.