A tragedy that could have been averted
A 26-year-old man and his 27-year-old wife, charged yesterday with murder over the death of the man's five-year-old daughter in Hong Kong. The girl who died from alleged abuse at home had been hurdled into the air and hit the ceiling, a court heard.
The girl Chan Siu-lam and her father Chan Hoi-ping.
The father Chan Hoi-ping and stepmother Wong Hei-tung are accused of murdering the daughter Chan Siu-lam at a flat in Tuen Mun on January 6. The prosecutor told court the father admitted under caution that he beat his daughter.
The girl Chan Siu-lam and her father Chan Hoi-ping.
The prosecution said police found wounds all over the dead girl's body. The eight-year-old brother of the girl was also found with wounds. According to police statement of the brother and the stepmother's seven-year-old daughter, the father flung the girl up towards the ceiling the day before her death.
Chan Siu-lam and her eight-year-old brother.
The prosecution also said the two accused beat the five-year-old every day with bamboo sticks and also stabbed her chest with scissors. They were remanded in custody until March 6.
Authorities in New Mexico issued an arrest warrant Friday for director and Emmy Award-winning actor Timothy Busfield to face a child sex abuse charge.
An investigator with the Albuquerque Police Department filed a criminal complaint in support of the charge, which says a child reported that Busfield touched him inappropriately. The acts allegedly occurred on the set of “The Cleaning Lady,” a TV series Busfield directed and acted in.
The child said the first incident happened when he was 7 years old and Busfield touched him three or four times. Busfield allegedly touched him five or six times on another occasion when he was 8.
The child's mother reported to Child Protective Services that the abuse occurred between November 2022 and spring 2024, the complaint said.
Busfield's attorney and agent did not immediately respond to email messages seeking comment late Friday.
The arrest warrant, which was signed by a judge, said the charge is for two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor.
According to the complaint, the child, which it identifies only by his initials, has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety. A social worker documented him saying he has had nightmares about Busfield touching him and woken up scared.
The child was reportedly afraid to tell anyone because Busfield was the director and he feared he would get mad at him.
The investigation began in November 2024, when the investigator responded to a call from a doctor at the University of New Mexico Hospital. The child’s parents had gone there at the recommendation of a law firm, the complaint said.
“The Cleaning Lady” aired for four seasons on Fox, ending in 2025. It starred Elodie Yung as a Cambodian doctor who comes to the United States to get medical treatment for her son, witnesses a mob killing and ends up becoming a cleaner for organized crime.
The show was produced by Warner Bros., which according to the complaint conducted its own investigation into the abuse allegations but was unable to corroborate them.
Busfield is known for appearances in “The West Wing,” “Field of Dreams” and “Thirtysomething,” the latter of which won him an Emmy for outstanding supporting actor in a drama series in 1991.
He is married to actor Melissa Gilbert; there was no immediate response to an email sent to her publicist.
FILE - Actor Timothy Busfield smiles before an NFL football game in Detroit, Sept. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)
