Mt Druitt baby left in hot car while parents went shopping
A magistrate has told a couple their baby could’ve died after they left her alone in a hot car on a 38C summer day. It has also been revealed in court why the five-month-old had been left unattended.
Blacktown
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A couple who left their five-month old baby alone in a car on a 38 degree day while they went TV shopping have been slammed by a magistrate as “wickedly negligent”.
The Mt Druitt parents, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, faced Blacktown Local Court today, each pleading guilty to one count of leaving a child in a motor vehicle and causing distress.
The couple were at The Good Guys at Prospect Homemaker Centre on Australia Day when they left their baby girl in the back seat of the car with the engine running and went shopping for more than 20 minutes.
According to police documents, a member of the public raised the alarm with shop staff after noticing the baby in the running car while unsupervised.
Staff attempted to track down the baby’s parents twice by paging them across the store’s public address system, but there was no response.
Court papers revealed the baby was crying at the time and was removed from the car by staff members who then contacted police.
A short time later, the mother returned to the car and her husband was found inside the store buying a TV.
When he was questioned by police, he reportedly told officers his wife had been in the car.
Police said the couple showed “no remorse” for their actions.
“They appeared more concerned with finalising the purchase of their electronic equipment,” police said.
In sentencing at court today, Magistrate Jennifer Giles slammed the couple’s actions.
“You cannot leave a baby in a hot car in Australia, the kid will be dead in 20 minutes,” Ms Giles said.
“It is wickedly negligent for you to have done so.
“It is a prevalent offence and the court needs to make sure you are denounced and deterred.”
Speaking through an interpreter, the father apologised to the court.
“We are very sorry. The baby was asleep and we didn’t want to wake her,” he said.
“The airconditioning was on.
“We will not do this again.”
The couple were fined $300 each.
Ms Giles dismissed three additional charges against the father, including leaving a vehicle engine on, not removing keys and not locking the doors of an unattended vehicle.