Man accused of pouring coffee on baby

The man suspected of spilling hot coffee on a nine-month-old baby in a Brisbane park has been identified as a 33-year-old Chinese national.

Luka was with his mother in Hanlon Park on August 27 when a man the family had never met poured hot coffee on the baby before fleeing.

The little boy was taken to hospital with severe burns and has since been released – but will suffer lifelong injuries as a result.

The suspected attacker has now been identified by Chinese media as a 33-year-old Chinese citizen who was in Australia on a student visa.

The man drove to New South Wales the day after the alleged attack and fled Sydney Airport on August 31.

Queensland Police have now issued an arrest warrant for the man on charges of grievous bodily harm.

The maximum penalty for the crime is life imprisonment.

Police said he had no family or criminal record in Australia and had previously worked in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.

Chinese media reports that he was born in Hangzhou, China.

“Queensland Police are working with national and international partner agencies to further progress this investigation,” said a statement from Queensland Police.

Speaking to 4BC Radio on Thursday morning, Acting Assistant Police Commissioner Andrew Massingham said police were “very determined” to arrest the man.

“Our international search for the person who committed this terrible crime continues,” he said.

“This child will carry these injuries for the rest of his life.”

Queensland Police Inspector Paul Dalton previously revealed the man had fled the country just 12 hours after he was identified.

“I was in the investigation center when we named the face and it was a very pleasant room, except within 15 minutes we did a check and found out we had lost him,” he said.

“We have 30 detectives working for me. They are devastated that they missed this person by 12 hours.

“I was discouraged, but that disappointment quickly turns into determination and resilience to get the work done.”

A GoFundMe was quickly set up for baby Lukas' medical bills, with the campaign raising nearly $200,000.

Luka's parents reported on his condition on the donation page on September 26th and announced that he had just taken his first bath at home.

“It’s safe to say he had the time of his life,” wrote his mother, Erna.

“It's a long road to recovery when it comes to scar treatment, but the worst is over and the outcome is far better than we ever imagined in the first few days.

“Now all we have to do is participate [to] Outpatients once a week, big improvement over twice-weekly general anesthesia surgeries.”

His mother had previously written that she hoped “one day justice will be served.”

“This terrible event should never have happened,” she said.