Filipino toddler beaten up, trampled by 'local resident' in Taiwan

A two-year-old Filipino was beaten up and trampled by a man while on vacation in Taiwan with his family, according to the report of JP Soriano on "24 Oras" Friday.

The Balagtas family was excited when they arrived in Taiwan on April 25, 2026 for a vacation with their two-year-old daughter and other relatives.

However, while they were at a train station in Taipei, the little girl suddenly ran away from the group.

The family was in shock when a man suddenly hit the child.

"To my surprise, biglang may dumaan na tao binangga siya tapos hinampas siya. Tumakbo ako agad. Kaya lang mabilis ang pangyayari, tinapaktapakan siya," said the child's mother, Veronica Balagtas.

(To my surprise, someone passing by bumped into her and then hit her. I ran immediately. But the incident happened so quickly, she was also trampled on.)

"Nung nangyari yun (When that happened), actually I was frozen. I was frozen," she added.

The man then stopped hurting the child. It was found out in an investigation conducted on the incident why the man hurt the child.

"Ginawa daw niya yun sa daughter ko kasi daw nainis daw yata siya na tumatakbo siya," Veronica said.

(He said he did that to my daughter because he was annoyed that she was running around.)

Soriano reported that help arrived immediately, including the ambulance.

The man was also arrested, according to media reports of local Taiwan. The man is suspected to be a local resident in Taiwan.

Inside the ambulance, it was found that the toddler had bruises and a concussion.

Taiwan tourism officials apologized and gave financial assistance.

However, Veronica said the Taiwanese government's action against the suspect and damages due to them are not clear.

"What I need from the MECO (Manila Economic and Cultural Office) is free legal, the assistance for the entire case, to sue the assailant for moral damages, for us to be able to be compensated for the moral damages, for the suffering and the trauma that we are scarred for life as a family and to make sure that the man will be prosecuted," said Veronica.

In a statement, the MECO said it "immediately coordinated" with the Balagtas family after the incident "and our Assistance to Nationals (ATN) Unit has monitored the steps that the family undertook, such as filing their statement with the Taipei Police, the Prosecutor's Office as well as their visit to the Association for Victims Support."

"While the matter is now pending with the court, we have a continuing coordination with the Balagtas family, and they can rest assured that MECO will provide assistance," it said.

The message of the Balagtas family has also been sent by GMA News to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, but it has yet to respond. — BAP/LDF/VBL, GMA News