Badly hurt baby boy known to CYF

Children's Commissioner John Angus says that serious physical abuse towards children has been 'distressingly regular'. Photo / Martin Sykes

A 4-month-old baby boy in a critical but stable condition in the Starship hospital is known to Child, Youth and Family.

The baby, whose name has not been made public, was admitted on Thursday night. No details of his injuries are available.

Child, Youth and Family's general manager of operations, John Henderson, said the agency had been working closely with the baby's family, and would provide the support needed during a "difficult and painful time". "Due to the nature of the investigation however, we cannot speak in detail at this time."

A 22-year-old woman appeared in the Manukau District Court on Friday charged with assaulting a child, and will re-appear this week.

The incident follows the suspicious death of Hamilton toddler Hail-Sage McClutchie last month.

The 22-month-old was found with serious injuries at a Morrinsville house on Saturday September 26, and died in Waikato Hospital that night.

Her wider family was known to CYF. Medical tests are still being carried out to determine the exact cause of death.

"Pathology tests still have to be completed and this will take a couple of months," said police spokesman Andrew McAlley.

Hail-Sage was the third New Zealand baby to have died in suspicious circumstances within two months.

Children's Commissioner John Angus yesterday did not know of the 4-month-old baby, but said "there does seem to have been a distressingly regular occurrence of serious abuse from assault".

Dr Angus said it was important that any neglect or ill-treatment of infants was reported immediately, regardless of how trivial it seemed.

"When a child is seriously injured or dies, there is nearly always someone who is acquainted to that child who was warned about how it was being treated," he said.

Dr Angus said people needed to be empowered to speak up.

"We need to make sure we are praising them so that they are not seen as narking," he said.

He said the Government's new "Protecting our most vulnerable infants" programme would help educate new parents on the frustrations of raising a baby, particularly the dangers of shaking an infant.