The woman, 21, and her children live in Tin Shui Wai with her boyfriend. Before she left for Shenzhen on January 16, she had asked a relative of her boyfriend to watch the children but was refused. The relative, finding no adult at home around midnight, called police.

Neighbors said the mother often put the children in the narrow space between the wooden door and the anti-theft door, ignoring their crying. They also said she has left the children on their own before.

(Ming Pao Daily News)