The Judiciary Police (PJ) arrested an unmarried local couple last week for leaving their five-month-old baby son unattended in their home for a short period of time following a heated argument, a PJ spokesperson said during a regular press conference on Friday.
When the couple’s quarrel on Wednesday evening last week became heated, according to the spokesperson, the woman went to the building’s management office and asked a doorman to go up to her flat to settle the argument between her and her partner. When the man saw the doorman coming to the flat, he told him that he was going to leave the flat for a while to calm down.
Afterwards, the doorman returned to the management office, but a few minutes later he saw the woman also leaving the building. Worrying that something was awry, the doorman went to the flat where he saw that both the metal gate and wooden door were open and the couple’s baby was on the sofa, because of which he called the police.
The spokesperson identified the infant’s father as a 28-year-old surnamed Chan, who told the police that he co-owns a pub, and his partner as a 30-year-old surnamed Chio, who told the police that she is self-employed.
The police went to the building in the peninsula’s northern district after receiving the doorman’s report on Wednesday night last week. The baby boy had meanwhile been taken from the flat by paramedics to hospital for examination where doctors confirmed that he had not suffered any injuries, according to the spokesperson.
According to the spokesperson, the doorman told the police that since the couple moved into the flat two months ago, they often argued.
The police later called the couple and told them to go to a police station for questioning.
The couple have been cohabiting for a year during which they have had quarrels from time to time. The woman gave birth to her son late last year.
Under questioning by the police, Chan denied the allegation of child abandonment. Chan told the police that he suddenly left his flat for a while for business matters but that he had asked a relative to go to his flat to look after his son during his absence, the spokesperson said.
According to the spokesperson, Chan told the police that he had only realised that his son had been left alone in the flat after receiving the police’s call.
Under questioning by the police, Chio admitted that she had left the leaving her son unattended as she was intoxicated and had become emotional, the spokesperson said.
The couple have been transferred to the Public Prosecution Office (MP) for further questioning, each facing an abandonment charge under aggravated circumstances.
According to Article 135 of the Macau Penal Code, anyone abandoning a person that they have the legal duty to protect or look after, leaving them without protection due to their age, physical disability or illness, face a prison term of between one and five years. According to the same article, the offenders faces aggravated circumstances charges if they are the abandonee’s parents or offspring, in which case they face a prison term of between two and five years.
