TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The mother of a three-year-old girl and another person they lived with are being investigated as suspects in her involuntary manslaughter following the girl's death at National Cheng Kong University Hospital on Monday night.
Tainan District Prosecutors' Office Spokesperson Lin Chung-pin (林仲斌) said the coroners found large bruises all over the girl’s body, CNA reported. The examination also found wounds on her face.
The preliminary investigation indicated the injuries were caused by the perpetrators using sticks and their hands. However, an autopsy will be performed to determine the cause of death, Lin added.
The three-year-old, who lived in West Central District, Tainan, was sent to the hospital around 11 p.m. on Monday by her mother surnamed Fang (方) and her mother’s cohabitant surnamed Hu (胡). The girl later died in the hospital.
After receiving a report of the girl’s death, police took the pair back to the station to investigate. After questioning, police suspected they had physically abused the child.
They referred them to the prosecutors’ office on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter, recommending the office detain the couple.
The Tainan Social Affairs Bureau also filed a lawsuit against the pair based on the Protection of Children and Youths Welfare and Rights Act. Bureau officials said the girl had been under the care of relatives in other municipalities, but her mother had taken her back to Tainan in July of this year.
