9 hours ago
Update on investigation into Brisbane baby coffee attack
Queensland police have revealed they have not given up on finding the man responsible for pouring scalding hot coffee on a baby boy last year.
The random attack on nine-month-old Luka at a Brisbane park in August sparked a public outcry and a police manhunt for the assailant, who is believed to have fled the country.
On Thursday, Acting Commissioner Shane Chelepy told radio station 4BC that investigations into the 'horrible incident' were ongoing almost one year on.
'This isn't something we've parked in a corner; this was a very serious offence, and we're working hard on it,' he said.
'What I can say is we're still working with our international partners to progress this matter and to get a resolution here.
'We've got a range of investigative strategies.'
Acting Commissioner Chelepy said the incident 'struck our investigators pretty hard' and paid tribute to their efforts in finding the culprit.
The man is believed to be a 33-year-old Chinese national who left Australia and returned to China via New Zealand shortly after the incident.
Radio host Peter Fegan asked the acting commissioner if Queensland Police had sent detectives to China, which he declined to answer.
'I don't want to compromise investigative strategies,' he said.
Luka sustained burns to 60 per cent of his body when the man tipped a thermos of hot coffee onto the boy's face during a picnic at Hanlon Park on August 27.
The man was captured on CCTV footage fleeing the scene but authorities were unable to track him down before he left the country.
It is believed the man had been in Australia on multiple visas and worked at various sites along the East Coast, according to Chinese media reports.
Luka's mother told the Courier Mail in November that her little boy had become 'a bit wary of people' since the incident.
'In those first few weeks, we had no idea what his future was going to look like, especially because the burns were so significant,' she said.
'He's healed really well and baby skin is amazing and the synthetic skin graft that they did worked really well.'
His father said the prominent burns seen on Luka's body after the incident had healed 'better than we ever thought'.
'Hopefully by the time he becomes a teenager you won't even be able to see the scars anymore,' he said.
