Asia-Pacific News

Hong Kong mother left girls home alone for week-long gambling spree

Dec 29, 2007, 3:31 GMT

Hong kong - A single mother left her two young daughters home alone while she indulged in a week-long gambling spree, a Hong Kong court report said Saturday. The mother left the girls aged eight and nine with just 160 Hong Kong dollars (20 US dollars) on a Friday night in October and left for Macau, a gambling hotspot just a one-hour boat ride from Hong Kong. The 41-year-old mother claimed she was only going for a few hours but when she failed to return the children looked after themselves over the weekend and on Monday went to school as normal. Her absence was discovered when a teacher found a test completed by one of the girls had not been signed by a parent and informed a school social worker. The report in the South China Morning Post said the girls were taken into care and the mother contacted in Macau. However, she carried on gambling and only returned three days later claiming she had 'lost her mind in gambling.' The jobless mother appeared in magistrates court Friday, pleading guilty to two charges of child abuse. © 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur

Asia-Pacific News

Hong Kong mother left girls home alone for week-long gambling spree

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