'Mum, it's so hot!' Girl in Taiwan develops blisters after being punished to walk barefoot on road

Despite her six-year-old daughter's shouts of pain, a mother in Taiwan forced the barefooted girl to walk on the hot asphalt roads for at least 20 minutes.

The incident occurred last Sunday (July 14) near a train station in Hsinchu County which is about an hour's drive from Taipei, said an eyewitness in a Facebook post.

According to the post, the mum had claimed her daughter had lost her shoes and she did not have money to buy a new pair.

When the passer-by offered to pay for the shoes, the mum reportedly told her to leave them alone and forced the girl to continue walking.

The former then called the police and tailed the mother-daughter pair on their 20-minute walk back home.

'You're abusing the child'

Videos uploaded by the passer-by show the girl repeatedly exclaiming that it's "so hot" and her feet hurt. She starts skipping along the road, attempting to minimise contact with the pavement.

"Isn't this too cruel? You're abusing the child," says the passer-by in the video.

"Go on, go report me!" responds the mum.

At one point in the clip, the child breaks away from her mum and ducks into the shade. However, she is tugged back onto the road and made to continue walking.

Taiwan media outlet TVBS reported the temperature of the road is likely 20 degrees higher than the over 30 degrees Celsius temperature recorded that day.

Police investigating

The Hsinchu County Police Bureau told local media that the mum and daughter had returned home by the time they arrived. The police will continue investigating based on the footage captured by the passer-by.

Meanwhile, a social worker found that the girl suffered blisters on her feet and subsequently brought her to seek treatment. 

The county's social affairs department said the mother is a single parent who is currently unemployed.

They will continue to monitor the family and provide necessary financial assistance and parenting guidance resources, reported local media outlet United Daily News.

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lim.kewei@asiaone.com