Baby thrown in boiling water by father dies

BARELY 10 months old, the little girl has had to suffer pain that's as excruciating as 'being slashed by a thousand knives'.

That was what happened in Changhua county, Taiwan, on Saturday after her alcoholic father threw her into boiling water following an argument with his live-in girlfriend.

CHANGHUA, Taiwan -- The baby girl the nation has been praying for after she was dumped by her father in a pot of boiling water Saturday died Tuesday morning.

Changhua Christian Hospital doctors said the baby died of multiple organ failure, and the doctors took her off a life-support system at 10:05 a.m.

The 10-month-old girl, who was thrown into the boiling water by her father during a quarrel with the girl's mother, suffered second-and third-degree burns over 84 percent of her body.

Chou said that for a short time, the girl’s condition seemed to have improved, but it took a nosedive on Monday night. The mother signed an agreement instructing doctors not to resuscitate her again after the girl’s heart had been defibrillated three times.

“It was just too painful for her,” the mother said.

An argument broke out. It reached a point where Ms Lin dared Mr Huang to throw their 10-month-old daughter into the boiling water.

In a fit of anger, Mr Huang allegedly snatched the baby from Ms Lin and dumped her into the wok.

The baby wailed in pain. Although a shocked Ms Lin managed to whisk the baby out, the damage had been done.

The mother reportedly dared the man after he threatened to throw the infant into water being used to make noodles. By the time the woman scooped her daughter out of the scalding water, the girl’s skin was already fused with her clothing and the skin and flesh of her arm and legs was peeling off, police said.

The mother told reporters yesterday that she was not aware her boyfriend had thrown the girl into the pot until she stirred the noodles.

Because of the girl’s death, the father could be charged with murder rather than attempted murder, Changhwa District Prosecutors’ Office spokesperson Chang Hwei-chiung said yesterday.

If convicted of murder, the man could face execution or at least 10 years in prison, Chang said.

And “because the victim was a child, a prison sentence could be extended by one-half of the original sentence,” she said.