Hong Kong court convicts couple of child cruelty, murdering newborn son

A Hong Kong court has convicted a couple for murdering their newborn son after rejecting their assertions that the infant’s head trauma and rib fractures could have been inflicted by his brother out of jealousy.

A High Court jury comprising three men and four women returned a unanimous verdict on Tuesday to convict Imran Hossain, 32, and his wife Farzana Akter, 29, for murdering their seven-week-old baby, Iyman Hossain, in 2019.

The unemployed couple were also found guilty of child cruelty for breaching their duty of care to the newborn.

The trial heard the baby died in hospital six days after he became unresponsive and displayed abnormal eye movement at the family’s subdivided flat in Sham Shui Po on August 24, 2019.

Prosecutors said the defendants, both Hong Kong residents, failed to call emergency services that morning and only took the baby to hospital at least 90 minutes after he lost consciousness.

The court heard the deceased was growing healthily in his last medical check-up at a clinic on August 8, 2019, but stopped gaining weight and displayed poor growth before he was admitted to hospital.

An initial medical examination diagnosed Iyman with multiple thigh and rib fractures, with the child’s right first rib found to be broken to a level of severity typically seen in a car crash or a fall from a great height. He was also found with bruises on his cheeks and forehead, scratches over a nostril and bloodstains on his nasal bridge.