HONG KONG: Permanent Secretary for Labour and Welfare Paul Tang has admitted there may have been failures in the assessment of a family in which the parents have been convicted of two charges of child abuse in less than three years.

Tang was answering questions concerning the case of a 24-year-old father, who was given a two-year sentence on July 23 for kicking his 3-year-old son last year. The blow ruptured the little boy's intestines and liver, leaving him in critical condition.

The convicted man, Lo Siu-ting, and his wife had previously ill-treated their elder son in 2006. The man and wife were put on probation for 18 months for that. Their two children are now in foster care.

Lo has suffered from bipolar affective disorder since he was involved in a traffic incident three years ago.

"The assessment at that time (2006) showed that it was appropriate for the younger son to live with the parents," Tang told reporters Friday.

When asked whether the judgment of the Social Welfare Department (SWD) was wrong, Tang responded: "It could be said so." The SWD will continue to follow the welfare needs of the two children.

Social groups pressed the government to review the mechanism of assessing families at risk.

Ngai Ngan-pun, social work professor of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, was surprised that the younger son was allowed to stay with the father.

"If the father had a previous record of beating the elder son, there is a high chance he will commit the offense again. The SWD should have prudently considered whether the child could live with the parents," Ngai said.

He demanded a full review of the current system and explanation of the judgment. Yet he shared the view that the father's attitude might have changed, based on how he behaved during assessment.

Against Child Abuse director Priscilla Lui urged the administration to thoroughly take all children in a family into consideration.

If the victim has siblings, the professional group should also assess the risks for them in staying with the parents, she noted.

Emily Chan, social worker (emergency foster care) of Hong Kong Family Welfare Society, emphasized the necessity to look into the psychological needs of parents in making assessments.

"It seems that the father in the case is weak in temper control. Parents with a record of abuse should be required to learn emotional control," she said.

(HK Edition 07/25/2009 page4)