A 42-year-old woman was arrested over the weekend after she reportedly abandoned her two-week-old son at a Mong Kok library to have dimsum.
At around 12:37pm on Saturday, two girls visiting the Fa Yuen Street Public Library told staff that a woman had asked them to watch her newborn son and never returned, Apple Daily reports.
Library staff found the boy inside a basket in the library’s computer room and called the police. The child was taken to hospital, where he was confirmed to be healthy and appeared to have no injuries.
At 4:20pm that afternoon, police intercepted the boy’s mother, a 42-year-old woman surnamed Kwan, who was rushing to the library.
Kwan told police that she had left her baby at the library at around 11:40am while she was rushing to pick up her eldest son, aged 10, from school. She said she then asked the 10-year-old to collect his brother from the library while she went out for dimsum in To Kwa Wan.
While at lunch, Kwan apparently saw her baby on the news, realised the panic she had caused, and called the library to say she was coming back to get him.
The 42-year-old was arrested on suspicion of abusing or neglecting a child. Apple Daily reports that she lives in a subdivided apartment in Mong Kok with her three sons, the eldest two of whom are from a previous marriage.
Kwan’s neighbours allegedly said they recently overheard her arguing with her boyfriend, who apparently shouted that the newborn was not his son.
The Social Welfare Department (SWD) issued a statement saying it would follow up with Kwan’s case and discuss child protection measures with her.
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