Manama: Authorities in Kuwait have urged families not to leave their children alone at home, “even for fleeting minutes”.
The warning was issued after servicemen from Hawalli civil defence rescued a four-year-old girl as she was about to jump from the balcony of her flat.
Officer Mahmoud Qabarzad, the head of the civil defence shift on Tuesday morning, said that the girl was alone in the apartment after her family, from an Arab country, left to drive the other children to their respective schools.
Realising there was no one at home, the girl became frightened and hysterical and went out to the balcony to jump.
An officer tried to calm her by engaging her while another officer went up to the flat and broke the door to let himself in and rescue her, local new site Al Aan reported.
“We urge all Kuwaiti and expatriate families to be extra vigilant and not allow young children alone at home even if it is for fleeting minutes because danger can strike at any time,” Mohammad Al Khadhar, the head of Hawalli civil defence, said.
Several internet users called for stringent action against the parents for their negligence.
“Kuwait should enact a law that punishes parents for their negligence,” Darb Al Zalag, a blogger, posted. “In some cases, the children should be taken away from them to make them appreciate the consequence of their carelessness. A child can be dangerously hysterical and can easily hurt himself, even if the parents believe that they will be gone for just a short period of time,” the blogger said.
Bu Abdullah, another blogger, called for sending the expatriate parents to their home country.
“I call for their treatment and their subsequent deportation from Kuwait,” he wrote.
