(The Standard
P.2 15 Jan 2013) A
two-year-old girl bounced off (跳彈) a sofa through an
open window and fell nine floors to her death in North Point yesterday -
putting home safety in the spotlight (使公眾注意家居安全).
A district councilor (區議員) and a children's rights group (兒童權利組) said
the tragedy showed window grills (窗花) in high-rise homes (多層住宅) are a
must rather than (而不是) an
option.
The tragedy happened as Yim Ka- ying was bouncing on the sofa next to an open window in her home of the ninth floor of Alice Court in Tsat Tsz Mui Road.
She bounced too high and went through the window - about a meter from the floor - and landed on the shelter above a kindergarten. A teacher told the police about a loud thud.
Police said Yim was unconscious (不省人事的) when found and sent to Eastern Hospital but was certified dead at 12.52pm.
A source (消息人士) said Yim's parents were not at home and the girl was under the care of her 36-year-old aunt, Yang Liurong.
Yim was born in Hong Kong but lived with her mother and aunt in Shenzhen. Yim's father is a local merchant. The family rented the flat in North Point.
A source said Yang and Yim's mother, Yang Bai-yun, have two-way entry permits (持雙程証) while Yim, who arrived in Hong Kong last Friday, had been expected to leave yesterday.
Yang was working in the kitchen when her niece went through the window. She sought (尋找) help from security guards. Police said she was taken to a station.
Yim's parents wept as they identified (確認) her body in hospital.
Yang was responsible for taking
care of the children whenever the parents were out, sometimes for two to three days.
The director of Against Child Abuse Jessica Ho Oi-chu urged parents or those in charge to take extra care of small children.
"Children, particularly if they are too young, lack a sense of risk," she said. "So parents or those in charge should always keep their eyes on the children.
"Grills should be fitted on windows and children should be kept out of kitchens."
A company that installs (安裝) window grills told The Standard it would cost around HK$160 for a small home and an extra HK$20 for each window for movable grills. Ho said window grills should be made compulsory (強制的) and that the government could subsidise (資助) those who could not afford them.
Other safety hazards in the home include curtain ropes, electrical sockets (電插座) and folding chairs and tables.
Eastern District councillor Stanley Hung Lin-cham said he supported the government subsidizing window grills for needy families.
Another Eastern District councillor Choy So-yuk said the Hong Kong Housing Society's (香港房屋協會) Home Renovation Loan Scheme ( 家居維修貸款計劃) helps poor families carry out interior repairs or maintenance, but education on home safety is more important.
"In addition to ads warning parents not to leave their children alone at home, the government should also point out other safety concerns," he said.
In December 2011, a four-year-old girl fell from a kitchen window in her home as she looked for her mother.
In 2009, a hyperactive (過度活躍的) boy climbed out of an open window of his home in Tseung Kwan O and plunged to his death from a clothes hanger (衣架).
Beatrice Siu
The tragedy of safety hazard in the home is shocking. However, lots of parents lack of the sense of home safety. It results in many accidents in the home. I occasionally learnt about those news on TV and saw those parents or grand-parents that they were with tears when they had found out their kids getting serious hurt. It is regretted.
回覆刪除If the involved flat had been fit window grills, the two-old-girl would not have fallen nine floors to her death.
Amy So