Woman who left four young children alone inside a closed car on a 41C day while she shopped at Officeworks walks free from court
- A woman allegedly left four children in a car as temperatures reached 41C
- Saman Irfan was charged over the incident that happened in Bankstown in 2017
- She has walked free from court, with the magistrate dismissing all the charges
A woman who left four children in a hot car on a scorching summer day while she shopped in Officeworks has walked free from court.
Saman Irfan was charged after leaving four children aged nine and under inside a car in a Bankstown car park, in Sydney’s west, on a January afternoon last year.
The temperature reached 41C and the court heard Ms Irfan left the children inside the car for close to 15 minutes with the windows up and doors closed.
Despite the magistrate admitting there was no dispute the children had been left in the car, Ms Irfan had the charge against her dropped on Tuesday.
Saman Irfan leaves court after having her charges dismissed. She was charged over an incident where four children were left inside a car on a hot day
The magistrate said the issue was whether or not the health of the children was likely to be permanently or temporarily impaired, 9 News reported.
The kids – aged nine, eight, seven and six – were crying when shoppers spotted them inside the car, a passerby told Fairfax media at the time.
In court on Tuesday, the magistrate said the issue was whether or not the health of the children was likely to be permanently or temporarily impaired.
The magistrate found that given Ms Irfan checked on the children four minutes after leaving them, she could not find that the kids were left without proper supervision.
The charge of leaving children in a motor vehicle causing emotional distress was dropped in court, after it was found none of the children faced any temporary or permanent injuries as a result of the incident.
Solicitor Zaki Hajjar did not comment when approached outside of court.
KidSafe says this should act as a warning as summer approaches.
Christine Erksine of KidSafe NSW said leaving a small body in a hot car leaves them highly at risk of overheating.
It was 40-41C when Saman Irfan parked outside Officeworks in Bankstown. She left the two front doors unlocked, leaving the children, aged 9 and under, inside
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