Wellington
AP
–
A New Zealand woman was arrested on suspicion of negligence of a child on Sunday after the bus driver found a two-year-old girl alive in a suitcase stored in the vehicle’s luggage compartment, authorities said.
The bus driver noticed movement inside the bag at a planned stop at Kaiwaka Settlement in northern Auckland after passengers sought access to the luggage compartment, detective inspector Simon Harrison said in a statement.
When the driver opened the suitcase they discovered a two-year-old girl who was extremely hot but otherwise appeared physically unharmed, Harrison said. Authorities did not say how long the toddler was in the luggage compartment, or the times in the cities where the buses are traveling between.
The child was taken to the hospital, where she remained on a Sunday night local time.
The arrested woman was charged with child abuse or neglect and was scheduled to appear in court on Monday. She was not named by law enforcement.
Bus company Intercity confirmed to a New Zealand news outlet that the episode was related to one of its vehicles. The company does not charge fares for children under the age of 3 and allows free travel on the lap of adults.
