Kurt Bugeja Coster
Baby's day out
Two-year-old slips away for two hours, found drenched
Storekeeper Alan Barbara could hardly believe his eyes when he saw a two-year-old sitting alone on a parking bay a few metres away from the one he was parking in.
"The boy's nappy was very dirty, so much so, it was about to come apart and he wasn't wearing any socks. He was also drenched by the rain. But he was healthy. He wasn't crying either, he was actually very friendly," Mr Barbara said yesterday.
He came across the boy on Wednesday morning on Andrew Cunningham Street in Qawra just near the Soreda Holiday Resort, the hotel where he works.
"I started asking him where he lives and he began climbing a flight of steps leading into a block of apartments whose front door was open. He was young and couldn't yet talk clearly so I decided to try my luck and have a look inside."
Wary of possibly aggressive parents, Mr Barbara asked colleague Frans Cassar, employed in the resort's maintenance department, to accompany him inside.
Walking through the building's front door, they immediately came across a discarded pair of socks that appeared to fit the boy and began knocking at each door. Yet, they received no answer.
"There were about eight doors and the boy was following us, knocking at the door we had just given up on, Mr Barbara said, laughing.
But after all their efforts turned out to be fruitless, Mr Barbara and Mr Cassar decided to accompany the boy to the police station.
There, he was washed by Constable Doris Muscat, who voluntarily bought him a change of clothes and nappies from a nearby shop.
Sources said the mother's partner turned up at the police station to collect the boy almost two hours later. He insisted the toddler had left the apartment without anyone realising he had done so.
But finding the man's story hard to believe, the boy was handed over to Inspector Louise Calleja from the Vice Squad, responsible for most social cases, among others.
She, in turn, summoned the boy's mother and partner to the squad's offices at the police headquarters.
Sources said Inspector Calleja established the boy's adventure was indeed an accident and ruled out any foul play.
The family, one parent Maltese and the other a foreigner, had recently moved into the apartment. The curious boy had walked out of the front door after finding the key in its lock shortly before he was found by Mr Barbara.
The police also established that an adult was actually present at the time and aren't pursuing the case any further.
Popular Stories
Update 3: Woman found dead in car,...
Updated: Woman dies in car crash
Part of Dwejra 'Azure window' collapses
The end of the bar that ‘never closed’
Carm Mifsud Bonnici resigns after...
Bundy does not know whether to...
Updated - Jason Micallef demands...
This WAS the night - Kurt makes it...
Petrol price up 6c
In Discussion
Updated - Jason Micallef demands...
Gozo tunnel could take 5-7 years to...
CABS remote controlled aircraft shot...
Joseph Calleja condemns portrayal of...
Carm Mifsud Bonnici resigns after...
Updated: Labour would give...
CABS drone shot down
Second group of migrants arrives
Adrian Vassallo in scathing...
9 Comments
Post comment
Please sign in or create your Account to post comments.
V Farrugia
Jan 9th 2009, 20:13
Well, now that you're reminding me, once my daughter (yes, she was quite a handful when she was still very young) decided that it would be fun to hide from me. It took both me and my mother the best part of an hour looking for her, checking each and every door, cupboard, drawer inside the house, including the inside of the washing machine (don't ask, our cat used to sleep inside it), before we found her asleep inside one of the wardrobes! By the time we found her, I was a hysterical mess. So, while I don't exonerate the child's parents completely, I can certainly feel for them!
As for those asking where the mother is, she could be ill, or even out shopping, thinking that her child is in 'safe' hands... Didn't we all leave our children in some relative's care (sometimes even their own father) for a short errand, only realizing later, that ,that person is not competent to supervise a child?!
E Caruana
Jan 9th 2009, 19:44
@ v farrugia
all very true but both your best friend and yourself were there when your kids ran into mishap. What if you had only noticed that they were hurt after two hours and not immediately? It's true that 'A parent can't legally tie a child up, can't lock them up in a 'safe-room' but it is his/her duty to watch over him/her 24/7.
Also why did not the parents open the door when the boy's rescuers went knocking? This sure looks suspicious to me.
Joseph Schembri
Jan 9th 2009, 18:19
Weird story :S But I'm happy that the wee boy is safe and sound and none the less for wear.
A comment aside: Why is it that it is always a female inspector or police officer who looks into cases having to do with alleged child abuse etc? In my opinion women can be too emotional with such issues and heir emotions can overshadow common sense. I'm sorry if I sound chauvinistic but notwithstanding current 'political correctness' I still believe that different genders are better suited to different roles. My wife happens to share my opinion on this issue.
OKsana Consiglio
Jan 9th 2009, 14:54
Well, what a story:)) hard to believe, being a mother of a 2 year old boy all I can say that parents responsible for everything. Keep on eye on a child it is not easy , but not to notice few hours of absent of a child I find it completely irresponsible. A mother's partner turned up at the police station to collect the boy. And where was the mother?
@ Gaby Tonna
It doesn't make any difference at all, just curious in this case they mention only one parent's nationality , why not another. I am not talking about publishing the names.
V Farrugia
Jan 9th 2009, 12:58
Kate, did you ever have toddlers in the house? You only turn your back for half a second and they are up to mischief. My best friend's daughter scalded her hands on the oven door in the short time it required her father to turn around and put a glass in the kitchen sink. My own daughter fell off the bed she was jumping on, requiring 2 stitches on her brow, while I was still telling her to stop jumping as she is going to fa--. I didn't even finish the word 'fall', she was on the floor, too stunned to cry, barely a meter away from me. Was I negligent for telling a 3 year old off? If I tried to force her off the bed, I could still have hurt her. And let's not forget the case, a few weeks back, of that mother who was locked out of her own house by her daughter, requiring the CPD to break open the front door.
A parent can't legally tie a child up, can't lock them up in a 'safe-room'.We have to accept that these scrapes are just part of growing up, and distinguish children's pranks from adult abuse.
Kate de Cesare
Jan 9th 2009, 11:52
I do hope this will be followed up by social services... even the fact that the boy was able to leave the apartment without the parents noticing indicates a degree of neglect. Did the parents not think to contact the police if the boy was missing for over 2 hours??
Gaby Tonna
Jan 9th 2009, 11:04
There would be no harm in looking into this more closely by social workers just to assure that the baby's is looked after well by his parents.
@Oksana Consiglio
What difference does it make where the father comes from???
lisa farrugia
Jan 9th 2009, 10:22
Where was the parents when Mr Barbara went to the little boys home? this should be looked in further by social workers....just glad the little boy is safe ,nothing bad hapened to him!!!
OKsana Consiglio
Jan 9th 2009, 10:04
One parent is Maltese and another?