A kindergarten teacher has been arrested in Hong Kong on suspicion of ill-treating a child after allegedly assaulting a three-year-old girl.
A 54-year-old woman reported to police on Wednesday morning that she had discovered bruising on her granddaughter’s abdomen 10 days earlier. She had reportedly been trying to find out what had happened to the girl.
The child, a K1 student at Pario Kindergarten in Ngau Tau Kok, told her grandmother she had been hit in the school toilet, leading to abdominal pain and vomiting.
The bruise measured about 2cm by 1cm (0.8 by 0.4 inches), a police source said.
Officers arrived at the kindergarten in Lower Ngau Tau Kok Estate and arrested a 27-year-old female staff member who was identified as the girl’s class teacher.
She was detained on suspicion of “ill-treatment or neglect by those in charge of a child or young person”.
The girl was taken to United Christian Hospital in Kwun Tong for an examination and treatment.
The case is being handled by a Sau Mau Ping district investigation team.
The kindergarten’s operator, Hong Kong Christian Service, said it was notified about the injury on Tuesday and had been cooperating fully with police inquiries.
It added that it had launched an internal investigation and was liaising with the Education Bureau, Social Welfare Department and other relevant authorities.
The teacher involved had been placed on leave, it said. -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
