A two-year-old girl was discovered alive in a suitcase on a bus.
Police were called to a bus stop in Kaiwaka, a small settlement in the north of New Zealand, on Sunday (3 August).
During a planned stop in the area, the bus driver noticed something off after a passenger had asked for access to the luggage compartment.
Detective Inspector Simon Harrison said in a statement that the driver then noticed movement inside the bag. The driver then opened the suitcase to find the two-year-old girl who was said to be ‘very hot but otherwise appeared physically unharmed’.
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Authorities did not say how the long was in the bag for or which cities the bus was travelling between.
An unnamed 27-year-old woman has been arrested.
She was charged with ill-treatment or neglect of a child and DCI Harrison said that further charges are not being ruled out.
The child was taken to hospital where she is undergoing an extensive medical assessment, and children’s services have been informed of the case.
Detectives have not disclosed the relationship between the woman and the child.
The woman appeared at North Shore District Court yesterday where court documents seen by New Zealand news media outlet Stuff allege she was travelling from Whangarei to Auckland.
She is accused of placing the little girl in the bus’ luggage compartment and the docs say her actions were ‘likely to cause adverse effects to health including suffocation, dehydration, carbon monoxide poisoning, heat exhaustion, psychological trauma’ to the toddler.
Her lawyer successfully requested she remained anonymous and be remanded before having to enter a plea. She returns to court today after undergoing a psychiatric evaluation.
DI Harrison praised the bus driver’s quick response as he ‘noticed something wasn't right and took immediate action, preventing what could have been a far worse outcome’.
The operators of New Zealand’s national bus line InterCity, Entrada Travel Group, said in a statement that the shocking incident had involved a passenger on one of its buses.
“Police were called to respond and are investigating the matter. No one was harmed during the incident, and the service resumed,” the group said.
On the InterCity website, it states that children up to the age of two can travel for free on an adult’s lap while children aged three and up require a child ticket and have to travel with a guardian.
Topics: Crime, World News
Jess Battison