3-year-old boy in Taiwan drowns after being left unattended in bathtub with 20cm of water

3-year-old boy drowns in bathtub after father leaves him unattended for 12 minutes

A tragic incident unfolded in Taichung, Taiwan when a three-year-old boy drowned in a bathtub at home after being left unattended by his father.

According to ETtoday, the boy’s father was bathing both him and his one-year-old sister at the time of the incident.

After finishing the bath, the father carried the daughter outside for dinner, leaving the son in the bathroom to play with the water.

Source: JazzIRT on Canva, for illustration purposes only

Approximately 12 minutes later, the father noticed an unsettling silence from the bathroom and rushed to check.

He found his son floating face-up in the water. Panicked, he immediately called the police, but the boy had already lost all signs of life by the time paramedics arrived.

Despite resuscitation efforts at the hospital, he was pronounced dead.

Water level found to be only 20cm deep

Preliminary investigations revealed that the father, a salesman, was taking care of both children alone while the mother, a hairstylist, was still at work at the time of the incident.

Source: ETtoday

Authorities found that the bathtub was 60cm deep, though the water level at the time was only 20cm.

The father mentioned that his son had a mild cold before the incident.

Parents devastated during investigation

Both of the boy’s parents were questioned separately.

Outside the autopsy room, the father stood silently, his head bowed in sorrow.

The mother, clutching her child’s book, flipped through its pages repeatedly.

When the father emerged, the couple embraced wordlessly, with the father resting his head on his wife’s shoulder, overcome with grief.

Source: ETtoday

The cause of death remains under investigation, and authorities are treating the case as a possible negligent homicide and violation of child protection laws.

Also read: 19-month-old boy in M’sia found dead near river after going missing from home

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Featured image adapted from Anna Nechaieva on Canva, for illustration purposes only.