International hunt for man who poured hot coffee on baby in Australia

The suspect had flown out from Sydney just 12 hours before police could confirm his identity. PHOTO: QUEENSLAND POLICE SERVICE/FACEBOOK via The Straits Times/Asia News Network

The hunt in Australia for a man who allegedly poured hot coffee on a baby has turned international, after it was found that the man had fled the country on Aug 31, four days after the attack.

The ambush on Aug 27 left the baby with severe burns to his chin, neck, chest and back after the man threw scalding hot coffee over the nine-month-old boy, who was with his mother at Hanlon Park in Brisbane, Queensland.

The man – clad in a black hat, glasses, a shirt and shorts – then fled the scene.

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According to CNN, Queensland police’s Detective Inspector Paul Dalton said on Sept 9 that police are working with international parties to track down the man, who has been identified as a 33-year-old foreign national.

It was found that the man had driven by car across the Queensland border to New South Wales, before fleeing by plane from Sydney Airport to an undisclosed location.

Insp Dalton said that early investigations were hampered by false information about the man’s name, reported CNN.

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“It wasn’t until Sept 1 that we were able to put a name to the face in the CCTV,” he said.

“I was in the investigation centre when we put a name to the face, and it was a very happy room, only for us to do a check in 15 minutes and find out we lost him.”

The man had flown out from Sydney just 12 hours before police could confirm his identity, reported BBC.

The man had also reportedly conducted his own surveillance of the police’s investigation.

“It soon became apparent to us that this person was aware of police methodologies, was certainly conducting counter surveillance activities, which made the investigation quite complex,” Insp Dalton was quoted as saying by CNN.

The man, whom Insp Dalton called an “itinerant worker”, had repeatedly entered Australia on various visas since 2019. He last entered the country in January 2022.

The man’s motive has yet to be identified. Insp Dalton said police are withholding the suspect’s name and the country he had fled to so as not to jeopardise their investigation.

BBC reported that Queensland Police Service has issued an arrest warrant for the man for acts intending to cause grievous bodily harm. The charge carries a possible life sentence.

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The baby has undergone multiple skin graft operations for his burns, and a GoFundMe page for him has reportedly raised more than A$150,000 (S$130,400) so far.

Immediately after the attack, an off-duty nurse took the baby back to her home nearby and ran his burns under cold water. He was then taken to Queensland Children’s Hospital.

The baby’s parents said they were devastated to hear that the man had fled.

“It sounds like they were very, very close in catching him, and this obviously means that we’re going to have to wait who knows how long to get justice for our son,” the mother was quoted as saying by Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

“I feel relief that he’s not in this country, in some sense, but I will always have fear and anxiety being out in public with my son.”

The baby’s recovery will take years, said his father.