A child was allegedly left in a “makeshift park” at an industrial workplace after his father was unable to send him to daycare due to his allergies.
The father could not miss a day of work and his boss gave him permission to take his son to the workplace on the Stuart Highway in the Northern Territory.
He set up a makeshift playpen with mats placed on the ground in the enclosed structure, Sky News reported.
A contractor saw the park last week and reported the problem to Territory Families and NT WorkSafe, describing the structure as a “cage”.
Darwin businessman Ken Martin denied claims it was a cage and said it was a three-metre by two-metre park.
The ‘cage’ a toddler was found in at an NT workplace has been revealed to be a safe playpen his father built after struggling to find childcare.
“We have an industrial business,” he said. “If you have a child here, they should be safe.”
The child is understood to be between two and three years old.
Since then, daycare centers have offered to care for the child so that the father can continue working and make ends meet.
Police attended the industrial site, which cannot be named for legal reasons, on May 14.
A Territory Families spokeswoman said the agency was aware of the matter and is investigating.
“The safety of children is our top priority and we take any allegation of child harm seriously,” he said.
Under mandatory reporting rules in the Northern Territory, a person must report concerns if they believe “a child is being, or has been, harmed or abused”.
“This includes the police, who can report suspected harm to our department,” the spokeswoman said.
“We work with children, families, communities, police and relevant agencies to assess and respond to any reports of suspected harm to children.”
A witness, who asked not to be identified, said the boy was in the secured area to prevent him from “running around the workplace.”
“Since three-year-olds climb in parks all the time… it’s so they don’t wander,” they said. New Testament News.
The ‘feisty’ dad couldn’t leave his son in daycare due to his allergies, so he created the park so he could look after him while he was at work.