A man faces penalties after his unsupervised two-year-old daughter was on Friday found trapped in the window railing of their fourth-floor apartment in Taoyuan’s Taoyuan District (桃園).
The toddler was spotted by neighbors at about 10pm trapped in a gap between bars in the railing, hanging by her head as her body dangled out the window.
The neighbors said they were alerted after hearing the girl’s screams.
Photo: Copied by Cheng Shu-ting, Taipei Times
One neighbor climbed an extension ladder to reach the girl, holding up her body to prevent her from falling or being suffocated by the bars until firefighters arrived.
Firefighters bent the railing to pull the child free and found that the two-year-old was in the apartment with another baby girl, reportedly only several months old, completely unsupervised.
Their father, a 34-year-old surnamed Lee (李), returned home as the firefighters arrived.
Asked by police why he left his two children unattended at home, Lee said he only planned to be gone for 10 minutes to buy snacks and did not think there would be any problems.
He said his wife works the night shift and he takes care of the children until she returns in the early morning.
By leaving children younger than six unattended at home, Lee contravened Article 51 of the Protection of Children and Youths Welfare and Rights Act (兒童及少年福利與權益保障法), police said, adding that they have notified the Taoyuan Department of Social Welfare.
The article stipulates a fine of between NT$3,000 and NT$15,000 for culprits, who must also receive between four and 50 hours of remedial education.
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