Man accused of pouring hot coffee on baby in random attack has fled the country, police say

A man accused of pouring hot coffee on a baby in a random attack was conducting “counter-surveillance activities”, police say.

The parents of a nine-month-old baby, who was horrifically injured when hot coffee was poured over him, have spoken of their devastation after learning their son’s alleged attacker fled the country.

The nine-month-old boy was injured on August 27 while having a picnic with his mother at a Brisbane park.

The man allegedly came up to the boy and poured a Thermos of hot coffee on the child, burning his face and chest.

Queensland Police on Monday said the 33-year-old man accused of the attack had fled the country on his own passport a day before police identified him.

The parents of a nine month old boy that a man poured hot coffee on in a suburban park in Brisbane have spoken of their devastation. Picture: ABC News

He travelled by car to NSW on August 28 before flying out of Sydney airport on August 31, police said. A warrant has been issued for his arrest.

The baby’s parents have spoken of their devastation.

“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 told the ABC after the press conference.

“It’s a bit heartbreaking.”

The parents, who have asked to remain anonymous, said they have been living in fear since the attack, with the mother saying she will continue to live with anxiety while in public with her son.

The boy suffered horrific burns to his face and neck.

“It’s affected my mental health for the rest of my life,” she said.

The mother said she was feeling “immense sadness” for her son and the pain he endured.

The boy suffered serious burns, and the injuries to his neck and chest were likely to scar. The family expects the nine-month-old may need a skin graft and has undergone four surgeries.

Shortly after the news the man had fled the country, the mother took to Instagram to say the 33-year-old foreign national “knew exactly what he was doing” when he chose two vulnerable people at a park to attack.

“As a result of the attack, fear will continue to surround me daily … Months of recovery will continue for my son,” the mother wrote.

“Constant questions eating away at me, Why? Why him? Why not me? Why an innocent defenceless baby.”

She said the attack had changed her family’s lives and destroyed her mental health “for years to come”.

“It has ripped this part of motherhood – a happy joyful time – from beneath me,” she said.

Police believe this man can help with their inquiries.

The mother said the past weeks had been immensely hard for her family who’d had minimal updates from police to avoid impeding the investigation.

But she said the family was also informed on Monday that the 33-year-old suspect had fled the country within days after the incident.

“Within a matter of days of the attack, he had already fled the country and actively avoided police tactics to track him down,” she wrote.

“I’ve lived in constant fear for two weeks that he might attack us again. I had no idea what this man was capable of, the anxiety has been extreme.”

The mum said she has been walking on eggshells and was too scared to leave the hospital.

While she said she felt some comfort in knowing the man was no longer in the country, she said there was an “excruciating amount of anger” about him not being apprehended.

“We now have to wait weeks, months or even years until justice is served for our boy,” she said.

In an additional post to social media, the mother questioned how the alleged attacker can live with himself.

“This gutless coward gets to live a normal life in another country right now whilst we go through the trauma,” she said.

“How is this even real?”

Brisbane Detective Inspector Paul Dalton said the investigation was one of the most “complex and frustrating” he had been involved in.

He said the accused was “aware of police methodologies” and was “conducting counter-surveillance activities” that made it more complex.

The man police want to speak to in relation to the attack. Picture: Queensland Police

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

He said the foreign national had been travelling in and out of Australia since 2019 on both working and holiday visas, with addresses in NSW and Victoria.

Inspector Dalton said there was no motive for the crime.

“We will keep going until we find you, and I have not lost that determination,” he said.

“I’ve got 30 detectives working for me. They are devastated that they missed this person by 12 hours. I think only the family would be more upset about that.”

Inspector Dalton said police were confident the man stayed in Brisbane after the incident.

He urged the man to return to Australia and come forward.

“I encourage him to do that. There’ll be no judgment on you whatsoever,” Inspector Dalton said.

Originally published as Man accused of pouring hot coffee on baby in random attack has fled the country, police say