The man suspected of poured boiling coffee on a nine-month-old baby has finally been identified as a Chinese national who was in Australia on a student visa.
Despite a massive public uproar over the horrific crime, which has potentially scarred baby Luka for life – the 33-year-old man has avoided arrest.
Here, Daily Mail Australia reveals how the horrific day unfolded and everything we’ve learnt so far about the man suspected of the vile attack.
August 27
Then nine-month-old baby Luka was enjoying a picnic in Hanlon Park, in Brisbane’s inner south-east, with his mother and her friend when a stranger came up behind them at about midday.
The man poured scalding coffee from a thermos over Luka, leaving him suffering burns to up to 60 per cent of his body.
The mother’s friend attempted to chase after the man while nearby witnesses rushed to help Luka and his distressed mother.
A nearby off-duty nurse heard the mother’s screams and took her and Luka back to her nearby apartment to keep him under running cold water in her shower.
Luka was rushed to Queensland Children’s Hospital with burns to his chest and face and underwent several surgeries.
The man allegedly behind the attack managed to escape police.
The first photos of Luka after he was burned were shared two days after the attack (pictured)
Luka’s suspected attacker managed to evade police and flee the country before he was identified on Thursday as a 33-year-old Chinese national
August 28
Queensland Police shared images and CCTV footage of the suspected attacker as he fled the park.
The description of the alleged culprit came under fire in the weeks following assault as police refused to use the word ‘Asian’, possibly hindering identification efforts.
Former Australian Federal Police detective superintendent David Craig criticised Queensland Police for not showing the suspect’s face in their first public alert.
‘His description was reported as “a person [with] tan skin…” that doesn’t narrow it down very much,’ Mr Craig told Channel Seven’s Sunrise program.
‘He should’ve been called out as a man of Asian appearance, just as we do people of Caucasian appearance. It didn’t happen quickly enough in this case.
‘This is not racial vilification terms. These are identifying terms.’
August 29
Luka’s parents shared their first photos of the baby since the attack just two days after he was rushed to hospital.
The heartbreaking photos showed Luka’s skin red and peeling from where the coffee burnt him.
Luka’s mother at the time became emotional as she relived the harrowing ordeal.
‘It’s torture and I’m supposed to be his protector and I couldn’t protect him,’ she said.
‘I’m just having flashbacks all the time about what happened and I wish that he had poured the coffee over me.
‘I don’t know who would think it is okay to harm a little, innocent baby.’
Luka suffered burns on up to 60 per cent of his body and has undergone at least five surgeries
Luka had taken his first steps just hours before the attack but was walking again days later
August 30
Luka’s parents shared footage of him walking for the first time following the attack the same day they sat down for an interview with 7News.
Luka had taken his first steps just hours before he was seriously burnt, so his parents were relieved to see the injuries weren’t deterring him.
‘He seems like his happy self again, which is nice to see because the last few days have been really, really hard,’ his mother told 7News.
‘He’s doing good. He’s actually playing.’
The baby’s mother said he is doing ‘well’ under the circumstances.
‘He has been playing and interacting and smiling and laughing which has been really, really nice to see because the last couple of days, he’s been miserable and in discomfort and pain,’ she said.
‘He’s stable at the moment and he’s having his second surgery tomorrow, so we’ll know more information about his burns tomorrow, once he goes under for his second surgery.’
The alleged attacker’s strange movements following the assault, which were later alleged to be ‘counter-surveillance measures’, were also shared.
After fleeing the park, he went to a church in nearby Tarragindi, where he changed his clothes outside. He then caught a rideshare car to Brisbane’s CBD and then travelled to Caxton Street.
Then nine-month-old baby Luka was enjoying a picnic in the park with his mother and her friend on August 27 when a stranger burnt him about midday
The alleged attacker’s strange movements following the assault, which were later alleged to be ‘counter-surveillance measures’, were shared on August 30
August 31
Luka’s mother shared an update on his condition following his second surgery.
She revealed it looked ‘like the burns under Luka’s neck and chest will scar and potentially need skin grafts’, with a further surgery scheduled for September 3.
The mum added that it ‘wasn’t the news’ she was hoping for, but was glad that ‘most of his face, arms, and legs should heal very well’, attached to images of the boy bandaged almost completely while in hospital.
‘I’ve really struggled to cope with what’s happening to Luka; the cries, pain, any slight issue I am instantly triggered and brought back to the traumatic moment,’ the woman wrote in a separate Instagram story.
Thanking her partner for his support, the woman added: ‘Constant flash backs… I feel like a helpless mother right now who cannot support her son how she wants too… I love my boys more than anything in the world’.
September 9
Luka’s family’s worst fears were confirmed on September 9 when Queensland Police announced the suspected attack had fled the country.
Officers had identified the 33-year-old Chinese national just 12 hours before left Australia’s borders.
Queensland Police Detective Inspector Paul Dalton said the accused was ‘aware of police methodologies’ and was allegedly ‘conducting counter-surveillance activities’ in the hours after the attack.
‘This is probably one of the most complex and sometimes frustrating investigations I’ve had to be involved in and lead,’ he said at the time.
Detective Inspector Dalton said the man was clearly ‘aware of what we (the police) do to find people’ and that cops had been stymied in their efforts when they had initially been given the wrong name.
‘It wasn’t until September 1 that we were able to put a name to the face in the CCTV. Even at that stage, we probably didn’t have enough evidence to obtain a warrant. We’ve since been to New South Wales and Victoria to gather that information, and the warrant has been granted,’ he said.
Luka’s mother said it looked ‘like the burns under Luka’s neck and chest will scar and potentially need skin grafts’ following his second surgery
Luka recently returned to the park with his parents and older sister where he happily played on the swings and slippery slide
September 11
Following five surgeries, little Luka was finally able to return home.
The boy was initially expected to be discharged sooner but suffered a bout of gastroenteritis following his fourth surgery.
September 26
Four weeks on from the attack, Luka turned 10-months-old and received a junior police uniform from detectives investigating his case.
He recently returned to the park with his parents and older sister where he happily played on the swings and slippery slide.
His parents also renewed calls for police to share more information with the public about their son’s suspected attacker, who understood to have fled Australia in the day following the incident.
‘We would just like a bit of assurance that we are on the right track, and (that the offender) is going to get caught,’ Luka’s father told Seven News.
‘How (do) they plan on bringing the suspect back? And if they know where he is in that particular country, is that country working with us?’
October 3
A 33-year-old Chinese national on a student visa in Australia was identified as the man suspected of pouring hot coffee on Luka.
Police obtained a warrant for the man’s arrest for acts intending to cause grievous bodily harm, which carries a life sentence as a maximum penalty.
The man drove to NSW a day after the alleged attack before flying out of the country from Sydney on August 31.
Acting Assistant Police Commissioner Andrew Massingham told Radio 4BC on Thursday that the suspect’s name had been published in Chinese media.
Police said the 33-year-old man had no family or criminal record in Australia and had worked in Queensland, NSW and Victoria.
Daily Mail Australia understands he had been on a holiday visa since first coming to Australia in 2019, before switching to a student visa.
He was reportedly born in Hangzhou, China, according to Chinese media.
‘Our international search continues for the person suspected of committing that horrendous crime…we are very much committed to finding the individual responsible,’ Mr Massingham said.
‘That child will have those injuries for life.’
A 33-year-old Chinese national on a student visa was identified as the man suspected of pouring hot coffee on Luka (pictured)
The baby boy’s mother said it was some relief that the alleged attacker was no longer in Australia.
‘I had no idea where this person was, I didn’t want to leave this hospital because it became our safe space,’ she said.
‘Returning home I had panic attacks, and still continue to do so.
‘I do feel relief that the suspect is not in this country, in some sense. I will always have fear and anxiety being out in public with my son – it’s affected my mental health for the rest of my life.
‘I just want to know why, why he did this. These are questions that may always be unanswered.’
Det Insp Dalton said he was still scratching his head over a possible motive.
‘There’s not many investigations where you don’t get a clear motive. It’s strange,’ he said.
Asked what his message to the man would be, Det Insp Dalton said: ‘We will keep going until we find you – I have not lost that determination’.
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