Nanjing drafts tougher child protection regulations

By Liu Tian Source:Global Times Published: 2015-8-1 0:53:02

The Nanjing government is soliciting public opinions on a draft regulation on the protection of minors before August 5, which bans leaving children under 6 by themselves, according to the government's legislative affairs office.

Experts said that the draft could be an effective attempt to improve minor protection as there were several cases recently in which children died after family members left them alone in locked vehicles.

The draft banned parents or guardians from leaving children under 6-year-old or minors who needed special care alone. It also forbids parents and guardians from asking people with diminished legal capacity or people with infectious diseases to take care of the minors.

In July, at least eight cases in which children died or suffered from severe injuries after being left alone by their parents or school staff in locked cars were reported by the media. These cases have triggered debate as few of these parents have been charged while almost all the schools involved were punished.

"There are still no specific laws in China now to punish parents in similar cases," Sun Baojian, a research fellow at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Friday.

Meanwhile, Wan Daqiang, a Beijing-based lawyer specializing in child protection, said that it is hard to punish parents in these cases by legislation "since these parents are negligent and the death of these children has already brought great harm to the family."

However, Wan told the Global Times that the draft regulations could give a warning to parents and guardians to be more careful. 

"Nanjing's move may be emulated by other Chinese cities later if they prove to be effective," Wan said.



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