Rise in reported suspected child abuse cases after new ordinance

Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun said authorities have received an increase in the number of suspected child abuse cases.

Sun's comments came after the Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse Ordinance took effect on Tuesday.

The new ordinance applies to 25 categories of professionals in the social welfare, education and healthcare sectors, requiring them to report suspected serious child abuse cases that come to their notice in the course of their work.

These include: child care workers, social workers, teaching staff, pharmacists, nurses and medical practitioners.

Those who violate the ordinance or obstruct a specified professional from reporting a suspected case can receive a sentence of up to three months in jail and a fine of 50,000 dollars.

On Saturday, Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun said the government received more reports related to suspected child abuse since the ordinance took effect.

Sun said such a situation was within expectations, but he could not provide an exact figure on the cases they had received at this stage.