A woman killed herself and severely injured her one year-old toddler by leaping from an eight-story building in New Taipei City on Sunday, police said.
The woman, surnamed Kuo (郭), reportedly wrote a note blaming her ex-husband’s family for her suicide.
“It is the three members of the Tung (董) [her ex-husband’s surname] family who have driven me to this. I should have done this a long time ago. If I did not follow his will, they would hurt my family; this is my only choice. I am sorry,” police quoted Kuo’s note as saying.
The police said that they are treating the case as a suicide and consider the note a reflection of Kuo’s frustration.
They said that that Kuo met Tung three years ago. They married after she became pregnant.
Shortly after the marriage, Tung left to serve his mandatory military service, while Kuo worked as a probiotic dairy product vendor, police said.
The two separated last year, investigators said, with Kuo receiving custody rights for the child and Tung agreeing to pay NT$10,000 per month for five months.
However, Kuo’s surviving family members said that Tung failed to pay any attention to the child and had not kept his promises.
Kuo had returned home to live with her family after the divorce, her relatives said.
When called to a police station for questioning, Tung was quoted by police as saying that the former couple often had disagreements over money and how to raise the child, adding that Kuo often threatened to commit suicide with the child.
Police officers quoted Tung as saying that he had not paid the alimony as directed, but added that he had never threatened Kuo.
Witnesses said Kuo was sitting on the parapet of the Chongyang Building in New Taipei City’s Luzhou District (蘆洲) and called the police station just as she was stepping outside.
Witnesses said that although Kuo held the child as they fell, the two separated in midair and landed within 1m of each other.
The toddler is in a coma due to its injuries, police added.
Commenting on the case, Child Welfare League Foundation chief executive Chen Li-ju (陳麗如) said that parents should understand that their children are independent entities and have their own rights to life.
Additional reporting by Lai Hsiao-tung
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