The father of a primary school student in a suspected child abuse case has denied reports that he neglected his daughter after she went to school during one of the coldest weeks of the year with inadequate clothing.
On Monday, police arrested the parents of an 11-year-old girl surnamed Wu, who was a student at the Po Yan Oblate Primary School in Kowloon City.
According to hk01, the parents were released on bail but have to report to the police in late-February.
Local media reported that Wu — who lives with her parents and younger sister in a sub-divided flat in Wong Tai Sin — was made to endure cold showers each morning because she was made to shower last when house’s electric water heater ran out of hot water.
Teachers raised the alarm when she turned up for school without a coat during a week where temperatures dropped to seven degrees Celsius.
It was also reported that the girl had undergone surgery as a child for a cleft lip, and that her parents preferred her younger sister over her because of her cleft lip.
The father, however, has denied he deliberately neglected his daughter, saying she dressed herself that day and that she probably underestimated how cold it was outside because he had turned on the heater in their home, Apple Daily reports.
He said that each morning his wife showers with their youngest child first, but he would warn his eldest daughter not to go in to the shower too soon because the hot water needed time to heat up again.
As for the allegation that the parents preferred the younger sister over her, the father said that his youngest daughter does well at school therefore she got more praise.
According to the newspaper, the father admitted that when the eldest daughter was 1-years-old, she was accidentally scalded and the parents did not immediately seek medical treatment.
After that incident was exposed, she was placed with a foster family until the summer of last year when she was returned to them, not 2016 as previously reported.
He said he really wanted to improve his relationship with his daughter, but added that at one point she tried to steal money.
