Parents Arrested After Death of 5 year-old Daughter
A couple in Taoyuan City were arrested after bringing the lifeless body of their five year-old daughter to a hospital for medical treatment after they allegedly beat and kicked her to death. The child weighed just 9 kilograms and had signs of long-term physical abuse.
At around noon yesterday Mr Huang, 36, and Ms Liao, 34, were taken by police for questioning. Today, prosecutors ordered they be detained in custody while the death is being investigated.
Mr and Mrs Huang are suspected to have beaten the girl with a clothes hanger and kicked her until she lost consciousness.
Medical staff said that the average weight of a 5 year-old child should be more than 15 kilograms, and that at just 9 kg, the girl’s weight was that of a one year-old. The girl’s height measured 82cm, when a normal 5 year-old’s height is closer to 110cm.
Prosecutors today said that the girl was very thin and that her ribs were visible, suggesting serious malnutrition. They said the back of the girl’s head had 3 wounds from previous injuries that had scabbed over, at least two bruises on her forehead, and bruises on her body.
The couple have two sons, aged 16 and 6 who have been put into the care of relatives by social workers. The Social Affairs Bureau said the family had no previous records of domestic violence, and were not on the register of high-risk families.
One of the girl’s brothers told authorities that his parents folded coat hangers into strips and hung them in the living room. They frequently used them to beat the girl because she couldn’t control her bladder or bowels.
Just last month, a 4 year-old girl was beaten to death in the nearby district of Yingge.
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