Hong Kong girl with beer: social welfare keeps three children in care
Hong Kong's Social Welfare Department said three children from a Tuen Mun family will remain in residential care after a girl was seen carrying two bags of canned beer. The department cited multi-disciplinary assessments and will later arrange kinship care.
Hong Kong's Social Welfare Department (SWD) said on 23 October that three children from a family in Fu Tai Estate, Tuen Mun, will continue to receive transitional residential care in children's homes to ensure their safety and stability. The decision follows a multi-disciplinary meeting that assessed the case.
The case came to light after a passer-by spotted a girl from the family carrying two large bags of canned beer on a public street. SWD said social workers are following up on the family's situation and have convened a multi-disciplinary meeting to comprehensively assess the children's and family's needs.
The department said the assessment covered the level of safety risk, the children's health or developmental condition, and the family's care-giving capacity. Based on the meeting's recommendations, SWD will formulate a welfare plan for the children and determine the support and counselling services the family requires.
SWD said it will take all appropriate measures to protect the children's best interests and will continue to handle the case through multi-disciplinary collaboration. The department plans to later arrange for the children to be cared for by relatives.
