TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A mother in Chiayi was charged with negligent homicide on Monday (Sept. 23) after her two children died in a house fire last year.
Last October, two children, ages 3 and 4, died after being left home alone in Chiayi’s Minxiong Township, per CNA. They were asleep in their beds when a fire ignited, though the cause of the fire remains unknown.
Firefighters found the children lying unconscious with burns covering their bodies. The house was completely destroyed, and efforts to save the children failed.
According to the Chiayi District Prosecutors Office, the children fell unconscious due to thick smoke inhalation. The fire started near a trash can in the living room before spreading through the rest of the house.
Prosecutors said that while the children’s parents were smokers, the fire could not be definitively linked to a cigarette butt or other household items.
Prosecutors charged the mother, surnamed Chang, with negligent homicide for leaving children under the age of 7 alone. She faces a maximum prison sentence of five years or a fine of up to NT$500,000 (US$15,600).