China dad jailed for killing baby daughter by throwing her from flat during fight with wife

BEIJING (SCMP): A man in China was sentenced to four years in prison after he accidentally threw his six-month-old daughter out of their flat window, resulting in her death and sending shock waves through the community.

A court in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region of Western China recently sentenced the father, surnamed Zhao, for manslaughter, as reported by the Chinese media outlet Hongxing News on December 8.

Reports indicate that Zhao had consumed some wine during dinner while dining out with his wife and daughter, and returned home intoxicated.

His wife, surnamed Huang, left their crying daughter with Zhao while she attended to some housework. Zhao, resting on the sofa, ignored the baby’s cries, prompting Huang to express her frustration over his carelessness.

As the couple began to argue, Zhao held the baby in his arms and approached the window of their sixth-floor flat.

According to the report, while attempting to rock her back and forth to comfort her amid the argument with Huang, he accidentally threw her out of the window due to being “drunk and emotionally charged”, stating that “his hands got slippery”.

Huang immediately rushed downstairs to find her daughter, who was in a coma at the time.

Zhao drove her to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead. The cause of death was identified as severe brain injury and traumatic shock resulting from multiple organ damage.

The hospital alerted the police after Huang accused Zhao of throwing the baby out of the window.

The prosecutor initially charged Zhao with murder; however, Zhao maintained that it was an accident.

Huang testified that Zhao drank almost every day but had been caring towards their daughter, purchasing high-quality milk powder and other necessities. He even bought her a toy on the day she died.

The court ultimately determined that Zhao was guilty of manslaughter rather than murder, concluding that he lacked a motive to kill and had made genuine efforts to save her life, even risking drink-driving to take her to the hospital after the incident.

He was sentenced to four years in prison for his negligence that led to his daughter’s death.

This case has reignited discussions regarding the legal consequences that Chinese parents should face for carelessly causing their children’s injuries or deaths.

In 2021, a three-year-old girl died after her forgetful parents left her in their car for five hours.

Last year, a father left his four-year-old daughter alone by the seaside to retrieve his phone from the car. Tragically, she was swept into the sea, and her body was found two weeks later.

In both instances, the parents were not held legally accountable for negligence.

Lawyer Zhang Xinnian from Beijing Zhongwen Law Firm noted that this is often attributed to the traditional cultural belief that legal punishment is too harsh for parents already suffering the pain of losing a child.

However, many legal experts and social media users argue that parents should face consequences for negligence leading to their children’s deaths, as children are not their parents’ property. – SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST