Hong Kong News

Nonpartisan, Noncommercial, unconstrained.
Thursday, Oct 03, 2024

Ex-child home staff tells court she was 'helping boy relax'

Ex-child home staff tells court she was 'helping boy relax'

A 45-year-old former female carer at the Children's Residential Home in Mong Kok who is being prosecuted for child abuse told a Kowloon City Magistrates' Court yesterday that she was helping a two-year-old South Asian boy relax his muscles so he could sleep when she brought his feet to his face.
Chow Chui-ying is one of 34 former staff members of the home operated by the Hong Kong Society for the Protection of Children on Portland Street charged with child abuse.

She pleaded not guilty to ill-treatment or neglect of children and told Magistrate Frances Leung Nga-yan: "All I wanted was to help him to relax so he could go to sleep." She did not mean to harm him.

Footage from a security camera was played in court, and it showed that at about 8.30pm on December 14, 2021, the boy was crawling around his bed.

Chow grabbed him and pinned him on the bed. She then pressed both of the boy's feet to his face in turn for about a dozen seconds. She had completed a number of courses and training programs related to early childhood education, including a training program to help toddlers with delayed muscle development and to muscle tension problems, Chow said.

She also said she had learnt how to "stretch" toddlers to help them relax their muscles in order to "stop them from throwing a tantrum and to sleep better."

Chow said she had been taking care of the boy since he was 16 months old and was responsible for assessing his development. So she paid more attention to him and played with him in her spare time.

She described the South Asian boy as active, usually cheerful with a good temperament and not too emotional.

Chow also said she found the boy was still awake when she inspected the bedroom on the night of December 14, so she set about carrying out stretching exercises.

Lifting his feet and drawing them up to his face was what she believed was an appropriate stretching exercise to help the boy sleep, and there was no intention to harm him.

She added that the boy's body was so pliable that he could raise his feet to his ears.

Chow also asked the court to summon the former director of the home, Chui Wai-ying, to present her performance evaluation report.

Chui then confirmed the report had been written by her, and in it she pointed to Chow loving children and being able to handle youngsters "with firmness and gentleness" when they disobeyed, so she had a grade of "good."

The case was adjourned to February 16.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Hong Kong News
0:00
0:00
Close
It's always the people with the dirty hands pointing their fingers
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Steve Jobs' Son Launches Venture Capital Firm With $200 Million For Cancer Treatments
Google reshuffles Assistant unit, lays off some staffers, to 'supercharge' products with A.I.
End of Viagra? FDA approved a gel against erectile dysfunction
UK sanctions Russians judges over dual British national Kara-Murza's trial
US restricts visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders because of security concerns
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Political leader from South Africa, Julius Malema, led violent racist chants at a massive rally on Saturday
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
'I am not your servant': IndiGo crew member, passenger get into row over airline meal
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Spanish Citizenship Granted to Iranian chess player who removed hijab
US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell freezes up, leaves press conference
Speaker McCarthy says the United States House of Representatives is getting ready to impeach Joe Biden.
San Francisco car crash
This camera man is a genius
3D ad in front of Burj Khalifa
Next level gaming
BMW driver…
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
×