'Spiderkids' off to play - climbing down a drainpipe 34 storeys high

They were hungry and they wanted to go out to play, so two children began climbing down the outside of their housing estate building - from the 34th floor.

Astonished neighbours in Tin Shui Wai in the northwestern New Territories spotted the girl, eight, and her brother, six, climbing down a drainpipe on the wall of Yat Chi House yesterday morning.

Their Spiderman-like bid for freedom ended when the girl became tired and sneaked into a 28th-floor flat. Her brother was forced to end his dangerous journey on the 25th floor, where the drainpipe ended.

The children's 26-year-old mother was arrested for alleged ill-treatment of the children and negligence.

Both children suffered minor abrasions during the climb and were sent to Tuen Mun Hospital for treatment. Last night, they were still there as welfare officers worked out how best to take care of the siblings, surnamed Wong.

Sources at the scene said the mother was apparently asleep when the children crawled out through an unlocked kitchen window. It is understood they later said they had wanted to play and get food.

The tenant of the 25th floor flat into which the boy climbed at the end of his descent said she was shocked to find him there on her return from shopping.

"The security guards were on high alert when I returned and people had said a child had fallen from a great height," she said. "So after I opened my flat door, I was very scared when I saw the boy standing inside. He looked fine, although he had dirty hands and legs."

Police located the children's mother, surnamed Lo, who accompanied them to hospital.

Following her arrest, she was released on bail and ordered to report back to police in two weeks.

The Social Welfare Department said the family received social security assistance.

The parents had previously reported to social workers that they had been experiencing difficulties caring for the two children.

Luk Chung-hung, a Yuen Long district councillor who visited the family yesterday, said they had already requested a move to a flat on a lower floor of the building.

SCMP. Jun 22, 2008.