TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A private kindergarten in Chiayi City is in hot water after a parent accidentally left with the wrong child on Wednesday (Aug. 1) afternoon, causing a family to fear their child had been kidnapped.
The unfortunate incident was the result of a misunderstanding and lack of attention by kindergarten employees, as well as the father who came to pick up his daughter.
The man did notice the child was not wearing the same shoes that his daughter had worn that morning, reported UDN. However, upon mentioning this, the teachers assumed the girl had accidentally put on another child’s shoes.
The man’s daughter was still inside the school when he left the school grounds with another family’s child. Meanwhile, the grandparents of the girl arrived to pick her up and grew frantic after realizing their granddaughter was no longer at the school.
The man who left with the girl realized his mistake shortly after departing the school and quickly returned to the school to explain the mistake. However, the grandparents and parents were furious and after an argument with the man, both parties went to the police station to file a report.
After the incident, the kindergarten posted a message on social media apologizing for giving custody of a child to someone who was not a family member, reported UDN. Parents across Taiwan, however, were angered by the lack of attention from the childcare workers.
On Thursday (Aug. 2), the chief of the kindergarten division of the Chiayi City Department of Education went to the school to investigate the situation. The department has reportedly formed a committee to investigate the incident further.
The kindergarten has pledged to review its practices to ensure such errors will not happen again. After an initial review, police declined to charge anyone with a crime, because no one was harmed, and the parent who took the wrong child returned immediately after they realized the mistake.
