Nanny caught drinking employer's breast milk in Taiwan is reported to authorities

Camera footage shows the nanny feeding the two-month-old infant milk from a bottle. She then uncaps it before turning to look at the camera, then going to another room to drink it.
PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM YOUTUBE/PEOPLE'S DAILY, CHINA

A 58-year-old nanny who was accused of drinking her employer's breast milk instead of feeding it to the child she was caring for was reported to the authorities, Taiwanese media have reported.

The incident occurred in Taiwan's Kaohsiung City and was widely covered by Taiwanese news outlets after the employer Ms Lin wrote about her experience on Facebook.

Ms Lin told Apple Daily in a report that she hired the nanny to care for her second child through the recommendations of her confinement nanny.

However, she claimed that the woman drank what was left of Ms Lin's breast milk instead of letting her child finish it.

Camera footage published in Taiwanese media shows the nanny feeding the two-month-old infant milk from a bottle.

She then uncaps it before turning to look at the camera, then going to another room to drink it.

Ms Lin told Taiwanese media that the nanny would regularly record in a log that her child finished the 150cc of milk.

However, she claimed that the nanny would instead finish the milk herself, going to spots in the home where her closed-circuit television cameras could not detect.

When confronted, the nanny reportedly said she drank "only a bit" and said Ms Lin was "petty".

Ms Lin showed screenshots of messages she exchanged with the nanny, who is no longer working for her.

The nanny said that she previously worked for a woman who allowed her to take her breast milk home.

She claimed that her previous employer said she could drink the leftover breast milk if "she dared to".

Ms Lin reported the nanny to the city's Social Affairs Bureau, but a spokesman for the bureau said the nanny caused no harm to the child and her licence has not been revoked. Instead, she has been given "time to improve".

According to Ms Lin, the nanny has taken up a new job posting at a kindergarten.

Taiwanese netizens reacted with disbelief at the news, with some questioning why she would drink another woman's breast milk, and others wondering why she was "unrepentant".

Chen Lita commented on Apple Daily Taiwan's page, saying she does not even dare to drink her own milk.

Jung-Chi Yu wrote that the nanny "does not understand how hard it is for the mother to express milk".

"A nanny without empathy - how can she care for babies? So what if she has a licence? Who would dare to believe her and pass their babies to her? Not publishing her identity will affect other mums looking for nannies. What 'fixed time to improve'? Her character is clearly problematic," she wrote.

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