HK boy, 5, dies after mother, 38, abused & starved him, weighed 9.7kg at time of death

A five-year-old boy in Hong Kong died after his 38-year-old mother physically abused and starved him to death in September 2022.

At the time of his death, he was a mere 9.7kg, which is half the normal weight for his age, South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported.

The mother, only identified as “LST” at the High Court, pleaded guilty on Jun. 22 to one count each of manslaughter and child cruelty.

129 injuries

The judge described the case as “extremely serious”, adding that the level of abuse involved was “at the top end” of the scale for such a crime.

An autopsy report showed the boy had starved to death and had also suffered 129 injuries to different parts of his body, SCMP reported.

The mother also had an elder daughter and a younger son, with all three children sent to a care centre at some point in their lives, as she was deemed unable to care for them.

The boy, who was born in April 2017, had reportedly been in foster care under the Social Welfare Department’s supervision since he was two months old.

He is said to have suffered from symptoms of substance withdrawal as a newborn, likely as a result of being exposed to narcotics during pregnancy.

The judge ordered the prosecution to look into why he eventually returned to his mother’s care sometime between 2020 and 2021.

He was also absent from nursery for more than two-thirds of school time during the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 academic years.

Confined to room

The boy’s sister, who was eight years old at the time of his death, told police that their mother did not allow him to get off his bed and struck him if he did so.

He was forced to eat and urinate in his room, and was only allowed to leave the room a few times a week.

The mother did not allow him to attend classes remotely as well, as she did not want others to see him.

Death

On Sep. 3, 2022, the mother reportedly called her friend and claimed to have beaten the boy to death.

Local media HK01 reported that the mother also called the police at about 1am, and police officers found her standing precariously on the ledge of her apartment.

She was rescued through a window, and officers found the boy unconscious with bruises on his face and his eyes and mouth slightly open.

Investigations later revealed that the mother had already found the boy dead during the afternoon of the day before.

She reportedly said she had woken up from a nap to discover his “stone cold” body by her side.

She admitted to the police that she had noticed he was malnourished, but did not take it too seriously.

She also said she would hit his palm and buttocks with a cane or a clothes hanger when he was disobedient.

Weighed only 9.7kg

Court records showed that while the boy had weighed 14.6kg in early 2020, he was only 9.7kg at the time of his death, SCMP reported.

The cause of death was later confirmed to be “severe protein-energy malnutrition”.

The mother will return to court for sentencing on Jul. 24.