According to the article, the parents are unemployed, on benefits. Their two children were fostered, but recently returned to their parents for reasons I didn't see.
We know about the bathing issue, because the girl provided the information.
For some parents / families, anything that can be seen as a disability or flaw is grounds for discrimination. It's to do with education, upbringing and beliefs. While most of Hong Kong is pretty good about accepting people for who they are, there are plenty of pockets and examples where those who are slightly different are rejected. And with the parents being unemployed, I can make several assumptions about their background. However, I need more information before I'd be willing to share my thoughts on this point.
Correcting a cleft lip is available here. But the parents have to know about cleft lips and medical options to do something about it. If the parents don't know, and the social workers aren't trained to add to that type of knowledge, it's not going to get done. While education here is quite good, in some areas, the lack is appalling. However, obviously I don't know what the parents and the social workers know or don't know, so my comment on whether or not the kid could get the cleft corrected is not really worth anything. Without researching the health laws here, I don't know if failing to get treatment for a correctable medical treatment is an offence or not.
As far as mandated reporting goes, I'm not sure. But the classes are large here due to the population number, so it's not always possible to spot signs of abuse. However, social workers do keep an eye on their charges, and the teachers do what they can. Normally, the schools and social workers cooperate closely. It also helps that families in HK are usually limited to two kids. There's no law in HK regarding the number of children you can have (China recently also lifted the one-child policy), but the cost of raising children here can be prohibitive if you have more than two. Unfortunately, even two can be a struggle. So, it's similar to natural selection: if you can't afford to raise children, generally, you don't. Of course, the flip side is the cultural belief: You have children to take care of you in your twilight years, and for the boys, to continue the family name.
WRT to healthcare, there's the government / public funded system, and the private system. Obviously, it's cheaper (and sometimes free / heavily subsidised) to go to a government hospital, though the waiting list is long. However, the hospitals do offer walk-in clinics. But in flu season, waiting times can be up to 6 hours; it hit 8 hours previously. The cost, though, is mostly within the affordability range of even the poorest who can get to the hospital.
The private system, particularly the private clinics are obviously more expensive. However, they have much faster queue times and offer both walk-in and appointment, and are also more conveniently located. But again, for certain demographics, health care is subsidised. For example, we have an elderly healthcare programme. The elderly have a set number of doctor's coupons per month, which they can either use, or save up (maximum is approximately HK$2000 (around US$256), I think). Each time they go to the doctor, they can use the coupons instead of paying. If they run out of coupons, they pay the remainder in cash (usually around HK$200 or less, approx. US$26 or under).
For those of us who work full time, we have company-paid health insurance (and private individual insurance if we want). So if we visit the doctor, we usually pay first, then claim back a certain amount on the company's insurance plan. And depending on company and company policy, the insurance may also include dental and Chinese medicine.
The system is far from perfect, but largely works for everyone.
