Original article no longer available
Expatica
30 May 2007
HALLE – The Flemish authorities are not taking any action at the moment against the woman who forgot her baby in a hot car in Halle last week. The five-month-old was found dead hours later.
Busy mother Cathy had dropped off her older children at school. She then headed towards the babysitter to drop off baby Guy but absentmindedly continued on straight to her work.
Seven hours later she planned to stop by the babysitter and pick him up. It was only then that she realised that the baby was still in his car seat on the backseat, dead now from dehydration and exposure to the heat.
The woman is receiving psychological counselling, as are the father and the two older children.
A friend said the woman had been dealing with some depression after the birth and had been taking medication. That might have been the reason she was so distracted, the Gazet van Antwerpen said last weekend.
The justice department in Brussels has confiscated the car and questioned Cathy. The authorities are viewing the case for the time being as a tragic accident.
[Copyright Expatica News + ANP 2007]
Subject: Belgian news