Hong Kong police took topless photos of a mentally disabled 13-year-old girl, abandoned in a restaurant by her mother, it has emerged.
According to Ming Pao Daily, officers took several pictures of the girl while she was topless, even though she had no injuries. This was apparently done with the consent of the girl and the children’s home where she lived.
On Nov. 21 last year, the girl’s mother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, took her daughter to a cha chan teng two days after taking her home from the children’s shelter.
There, she told the teen she was going to the bathroom, but instead left and never came back.
At a court hearing yesterday, the woman pleaded guilty to abandoning the girl, but insisted it wasn’t planned.
Her lawyer presented photos of her messy home to the court as proof that she needs social assistance.
She will be sentenced on June 23.
Meanwhile, the magistrate agreed that it was unusual for the police to take topless photos of the teenager, but stopped short of ordering their deletion at the request of the woman’s lawyer.
An officer at the hearing said the images would be destroyed after the legal proceedings are concluded.
Photo: Paul Reynolds
