Concern raised over suspected baby abuse
Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun said on Sunday that the government was very concerned about an incident in Tuen Mun in which a childminder allegedly abused a baby. The nine-month-old infant was found to have blood clots in her brain and is currently in intensive care at Tuen Mun Hospital.  The childminder had been trained by an NGO as part of a childcare project subsidised by the Social Welfare Department and had only started work this month.  Sources said the 33-year-old woman had been arrested on suspicion of child abuse.  Sun said the Social Welfare Department and the NGO, Yan Oi Tong, would cooperate with the police in their investigation, and that Yan Oi Tong had been asked to submit a report on the incident to the government.   He noted that Chief Executive John Lee had announced in his Policy Address in October that the government would increase the number of childcare places and raise the subsidy paid to childminders from HK$25 an hour to between HK$40 and HK$60 under the Neighbourhood Support Child Care Project.  "We will also take this opportunity to review the guidelines and training requirements to see if there are any areas that need to be strengthened or improved," he said.  In response to the incident, Third Side lawmaker and social worker Tik Chi-yuen raised concerns about what he sees as the minimal training given to childminders and the limited subsidies they receive.  He said the government should do more to ensure that childminders are properly trained.