What appeared a straightforward case of bad parenting has turned downright shifty, as a Hong Kong grandmother who tipped off the cops about her twin infant grandchildren being “abandoned” at home, admitted she fabricated the story in a bid to get her “lazy,” “disobedient,” and video game-obsessed son arrested.
The 50-year-old vegetable vendor, surnamed Shum, tearfully admitted to the ploy yesterday, after her actions backfired and resulted in the arrest of her 17-year-old daughter-in-law, whom she said was a “good mom.”
The teen mom, surnamed Yang, was detained on Tuesday after Shum told police the 5-month-old twins were left alone in the family’s home in the village of Tung Chan Wai, near the mainland border.
The original story proffered by the grandmother was that Yang had abruptly left the boys and departed for Shenzhen to find her husband, a video game addict who frequented the city’s gaming cafes.
The first sign of holes in the initial narrative, however, came when Yang spoke to reporters after being released on bail and accused her mother-in-law of fibbing.
“I didn’t abandon them, she’s lying to you,” she said, according to on.cc. “When I left the house there was someone there.”
This led reporters to confront Shum, who, when pressed, admitted there were three to four people at the house with the children, though she didn’t specify who they were.
She added that she only said the twins were alone because she was hoping the police would arrest her 21-year-old son, who still has not returned home.
Speaking to Apple Daily, Shum said she actually loves her daughter-in-law, adding that she is a “good mom.”
“The poor girl, she’s so young and she ended up marrying a man like that,” said a tearful Shum. “That son of mine is so disobedient, how did I end up raising a son like this?”
She told the newspaper that she has to go to work and earn money for the family, because her son is lazy and goes out to play video games with his friends every week.
According to Apple Daily, Shum moved to Hong Kong three years ago with her son, who was born in the mainland. After moving to the city, she started working at a vegetable stall, and her son did odd jobs as a decorator where he would earn around HK$500 (under US$64) per day.
Shum’s son met his wife Yang when they were studying in the mainland. The couple got married last year and Yang gave birth to the twins.
Despite becoming a father, Shum’s video gaming habits did not change, and the newspaper reported that at one point Yang wanted to take the twins to her parents so that her family could look after them.
Reader Interactions