The Social Welfare Department hopes Po Leung Kuk will conduct a comprehensive and in-depth review on a suspected child maltreatment incident and make recommendations on improvement proposals and measures.

The department made the statement following today's announcement by Po Leung Kuk that it had established an independent committee to review and follow up on a suspected child maltreatment case that occurred in its child care centre.

After discovering the incident during an inspection at the centre on September 16, the department required Po Leung Kuk to take follow-up action including the submission of special incident reports, a thorough investigation and the tendering of a detailed and comprehensive report.

The department will review and study the report while continuing to closely monitor the management, services and operations of the child care centre to ensure compliance with relevant laws as well as service quality and child protection requirements.