Driver and nanny arrested after four-year-old left alone in minibus in Happy Valley
St Margaret Mary’s Catholic Kindergarten student left locked in vehicle for about 30 minutes before police freed him
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 07 January, 2015, 9:57pm
UPDATED : Wednesday, 07 January, 2015, 9:57pm
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The boy was a student at St Margaret Mary’s Catholic Kindergarten, Happy Valley
The driver of a school bus and a nanny were arrested after leaving a four-year-old kindergarten student alone in their vehicle in Happy Valley for about 30 minutes this morning.
Police said they had to free the boy after he had been found by a passerby in the locked minibus.
He fell asleep in a single-person seat in the middle of the vehicle and stayed behind when the other children left the 16-seater minibus at St Margaret Mary’s Catholic Kindergarten in Broadwood Road at about 8.45am.
The minibus was then driven to a parking space on Ventris Road, about 300 metres away from the kindergarten, where the 45-year-old driver and 60-year-old nanny, both women, left it around 9am.
When the boy woke up, he injured his nose on a window, police said.
He was freed after alerting a 50-year-old passerby who called police at 9.18am. Police broke in and rescued him, according to a spokesman.
The boy was taken to Ruttonjee Hospital in Wan Chai, where he was treated and later discharged.
Police arrested the driver and nanny on suspicion of ill-treating a child when they returned to pick up the vehicle. Detectives from Wan Chai police district are investigating.
A spokeswoman for the kindergarten said the minibus was a “nanny van” service, run by a private school bus company.
She said they would remind the school bus operators to check carefully to ensure no students are left behind.
Before each school year begins, the Transport Department issues guidelines to all the operators to remind them about their responsibility for the safety of pupils on their vehicles, according to Leung Kong, chairman of the School Buses Operators Association.
“According to guidelines, nannies are required to conduct a headcount after students go on board,” Leung said.
“After they get off, nannies need to check to ensure no students or school bags are left behind.”
Both the nanny and the driver have been released on bail.
