A Hong Kong couple has received custodial sentences following the death of a 2.5-month-old infant in their care, a tragedy that emerged from nine days of sustained abuse documented extensively by home surveillance. The ruling, delivered in late 2025 by a High Court judge, saw the male defendant, Yip Chun-yin, 38, sentenced to seven years for manslaughter and child cruelty, while his wife, Lam Ka-hei, 27, received three years and two months for child cruelty. The shocking details of the infant’s final days, entrusted to the pair by his mother for weekly pay, highlight a profound failure to protect a vulnerable child, ultimately resulting in death from aspiration pneumonia.
Sustained Cruelty Led to Infant’s Death
The case dates back to August 2022 when the defendants cared for the baby, identified only as X, at their Tai Kok Tsui residence. Evidence presented by prosecutors detailed a systematic pattern of neglect and brutal mistreatment captured across more than 40 video clips from the couple’s home CCTV. These recordings, spanning August 4 to August 13, showed repeated acts of abuse, often while the couple were simultaneously doting on their own nine-month-old child.
Key instances of cruelty included:
- Forced Feeding and Physical Assault: Lam repeatedly forced the feeding bottle vertically into the infant’s mouth and struck him when he cried or regurgitated.
- Life-Threatening Acts: Yip was observed throwing the baby into the air and, in a particularly cruel incident, using a hot hairdryer on the infant 11 times. He inserted cotton buds into the baby’s mouth and nose and directed the hot air at him intermittently for nearly six minutes, resulting in multiple blisters on the face and limbs.
- Suffocation and Restraint: Yip stuffed a towel into the baby’s mouth for 15 seconds and covered his face with a blanket for 45 seconds.
Medical evidence confirmed the infant suffered blunt force trauma bruising and blisters consistent with hot air exposure. A forensic pathologist determined the direct cause of death was aspiration of vomitus, leading to inflammation and pneumonia. A pediatric expert noted that the feeding methods and attempts to induce vomiting significantly increased the risk of aspiration.
Sentences Reflect Severity of Abuse
Judge Anna Lai, commenting on the judgment, condemned the sustained pattern of abuse. She specifically cited Yip’s “especially brutal” use of the hairdryer to inflict pain, and noted that Lam watched these acts unfold multiple times without intervention. The court rejected Lam’s mitigation claim of depression, noting that video evidence showed her nurturing her own son while assaulting the victim.
Before the child’s death, X’s mother paid Lam HK$1,000 weekly for care but did not visit the infant after entrusting him to the couple in July 2022. Yip, a terminal communications worker, already had six prior convictions, including past offenses of child neglect and wounding, and was bound by a good behavior order at the time of this offense.
Both defendants were initially arrested for murder, but the charges were reduced. Yip pleaded guilty to manslaughter and cruelty, expressing remorse and claiming he believed the child was undergoing drug withdrawal, leading him to attempt “detoxification” through sweating. Lam, a housewife, pleaded guilty to child cruelty, citing poor judgment.
This tragic case underscores the critical importance of robust background checks and continuous oversight in informal childcare arrangements. The defendants’ own child has been placed under the care of social services. While the sentences provide legal closure, the case leaves lasting questions about safeguarding procedures for children placed in external care.