A New Zealand woman has appeared in court charged with neglecting a child, after a bus driver discovered a toddler stowed in a suitcase within the luggage compartment.
Police were called to a bus depot in Kaiwaka, 60 miles (100km) north of Auckland, after the bus driver became concerned about a bag moving during a scheduled stop.
“When the driver opened the suitcase, they discovered the two-year-old girl,” DI Simon Harrison said. “The little girl was reported to be very hot, but otherwise appeared physically unharmed.”
The luggage had been stored beneath the bus passengers, in a separate compartment.
The girl was in hospital undergoing an extensive medical assessment, Harrison said. He added that the driver prevented “what could have been a far worse outcome”.
“We would like to acknowledge and commend the bus driver, who noticed something wasn’t right and took immediate action,” Harrison said.
A 27-year-old woman appeared in the North Shore district court on Monday afternoon, after being charged with ill-treatment and neglect of a child.
Court documents allege the woman had been travelling from Whangārei to Auckland on a bus and had placed the child in a closed suitcase in the bus stowaway, local news outlet Stuff reported.
New Zealand’s ministry for children, Oranga Tamariki, has been notified.
In a statement to the Guardian, the bus company, Intercity, said it was aware of an incident involving a passenger on one of its services.
“Police were called to respond, and they are now investigating the matter. No one was harmed during the incident and the service resumed,” a spokesperson said.
As it was now an active police investigation, the company was unable to comment further.
