Court sentences nanny in child fall incident

The People's Court in Gongshu district of Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, sentenced nanny Wu Xiufang on Thursday to one year in prison and two years of probation for negligent homicide in the case of a toddler under her care who fell from an eighth-floor window.

The child, a girl surnamed Chen, was 21 months old.

The court held that Wu should be punished for dereliction of duty and inflicting psychological trauma on the girl's family.

The light sentence was tied to the fact that the window sill from which the child fell was low and had no safety device. Also, Wu tried to save the girl and voluntarily confessed to the police after the accident. She had no criminal record.

According to the court, Wu had worked as a nanny for many years and was introduced to the family in June. Six days later — the day the incident happened — Wu was in the elevator with the child. Wu was browsing her phone as the child tried to touch the buttons. Wu stopped her and told her it was dangerous. "Follow me," she said as she exited the elevator with the child's scooter.

Moments later, the elevator door began to close, and Wu saw that the girl was still inside. She tried to block the elevator door with the scooter but failed, and the elevator closed.

Hearing the girl crying inside, Wu tried to comfort her by saying "Auntie is here" and "Don't cry."

At that point, the elevator went up, stopping on the 8th floor. The girl got out, climbed up to the window sill and then fell to a platform several floors below.

Wu went upstairs to look for the girl, calling the father along the way. The girl was found on the second-floor platform by her father and was taken to the hospital for emergency treatment. She died later of head trauma and shock.

The court ruled that the prosecution presented reliable and sufficient evidence.