Two Women Jailed For Violent Abuse Of Young Girl

Two women have been jailed after pleading guilty to abusing a four-year-old girl they were looking after for a friend. The violence was so bad, the girl needed surgery to treat a brain haemorrhage, and the judge said the abuse was only carried out for fun.

At the District Court, Chan Tin-yau, 37, and Fung Ka-po, 42, were given two years and eight months behind bars for child abuse. Chan also got an extra two months for a drugs offence.

The women, who were a couple at the time, admitted punching and slapping the girl in November 2017 during her two-week stay at their home in Mong Kok. Chan also placed a lighter near the girl's thigh to scare her.

After the girl was knocked unconscious after smashing into a wardrobe, the pair asked her mother to come and collect her.

The women were arrested after doctors found the girl's injuries suspicious and told the mother to call the police.

The court heard that the victim had bruises and scratches all over her body and had to undergo two operations because of a brain haemorrhage she had suffered.

A psychological report said she doesn't appear to have suffered any permanent trauma. It also notes that she has signs of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and a developmental delay, which were not caused by the abuse.

In sentencing, the judge noted that both the defendants had said they grew up in single-parent families and didn't know how to take care of a child.

He said although it could be difficult to handle a child with problems like ADHD, this was no excuse for them to abuse the girl.

The judge said what they did was so outrageous that "it makes one's hair stand on end", and he believes they probably did far more to her than they admitted in court.

A video clip showing the abuse came to light and the judge said the women were obviously making the girl suffer just for fun.

He said their acts could not be tolerated and there were no mitigating factors at all besides their guilty pleas.