One-year-old Taiwanese girl hospitalised with brain damage; nanny claims ignorance

A one-year-old baby girl from Taichung, Taiwan, was hospitalised on June 21 with horrific injuries, after she was suspected to have been abused by her nanny.

The girl was reported to have suffered intracerebral hemorrhage, cranial nerve damage and a fractured arm.

Doctors said on June 23 that 75 per cent of the girl's brain is damaged. Even if she survives, she will be in a vegetative state, reported ETtoday.

The girl's mother, surnamed Chen, said that she does not want to see her child suffer and will take the girl off life support in a week if she is unable to breathe on her own.

According to CTS, Chen was a single mother and had left her daughter under the care of the nanny, surnamed Guo, as she needed to work. Guo took care of the girl 24 hours a day, except when Chen had the day off from work.

Guo told the girl's family that she had given the girl some milk at 8am on June 21. After some time, Guo went to bathe the child but found her limp and unresponsive. She then sent her to the hospital, said ETtoday.

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Guo claimed that the girl had fallen down and gotten injured, but could not give a clear explanation of what had happened.

Local government agencies, along with the police are investigating the incident.

The director of the Taichung City Centre for Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, Hou Shu Ru, told CTS that while Guo had obtained accreditation to work as a nanny, she had failed to notify the centre that she was caring for the child. This was in violation of regulations that require nannies in Taiwan to register with the designated government authority when they care for children in their home or in the child's home.

The girl's father, who is unnamed, questioned the situation in an emotional Facebook post saying, "In an environment where babies are cared for, why is there no regulation on the need for surveillance cameras? If they eat the wrong thing, if they fall or if they are abused, does it mean you can get off easily just by saying there is no cameras and you don't know what happened?"

The father had been preparing for his daughter to move in with him just a week later, on June 28. 

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kimberlylim@asiaone.com