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Police station becomes day care center for fourth grader

The elementary student now enjoys a more regular lifestyle and her school performance has improved, says policeman

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A police station in Hengchun Township has become a day care center for an elementary pupil raised by her grandmother

A police station in Hengchun Township has become a day care center for an elementary pupil raised by her grandmother (CNA photo)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — An elementary school fourth grade student, surnamed Kung, used to wander around town after school until she found the perfect place to do her homework and have her assignments checked every day — the police station near her house.

Over the past month, a police station in Hengchun Township of Pingtung County, roughly a three-minute walk from the house Kung shares with her grandmother, has become a day care center for Kung, reported Central News Agency.

Kung will arrive at the station, take out her assignments from her backpack, and get to work. Kung asks the policemen questions about the assignments and even asks them to check her work once she has finished.

Since the little girl waits in the station until her grandmother gets off work around 9 p.m. from a nearby hostel, she has started to have dinner with the policemen.

Lin Wen-chien (林文謙), head of the police station, said Kung’s grandmother had to work long hours so Kung used to wander about town after school and sometimes did not have dinner.

Now that Kung has started coming to the police station after school, and even on weekends, her lifestyle has become more regular and her school performance has improved, according to Lin.

Kung once showed off her test grade to the policemen because she almost got a perfect score, added Lin.

Kung even helps with the cleaning work and to keep the police station tidy.

According to Lin, Kung is currently raised by her grandmother who does not receive adequate wages for her work. Kung’s mother is said to live in Kaohsiung with her boyfriend and the whereabouts of Kung’s father are currently unknown.

Lin said the police had reached out to social workers for assistance, but that until Kung could be guaranteed better care from her family or from a children’s welfare institute, the police station would remain open to her.