Ninety-six cases of parents comitting suicide after killing or attempting to kill their children have been reported nationwide over the past three years, the Child Welfare League Foundation said yesterday.
The group called on the public to help identify instable parents.
A total of 124 minors were either killed or injured in those cases.
The figure means there were an average or 2.6 filicide-suicides or suicides after attempted filicide per month, with an incidence rate of 7.5 cases per 1 million people -- higher than Japan's 7 cases per 1 million people, the foundation said.
The tallies were compiled by the foundation from news reports published within the last three years.
The most recent incident occurred on Sunday, when a Taichung man attacked his eight-year-old daughter and 12-year-old son before killing himself. The girl and the father died, but the boy survived.
The foundation said that although the number of filicide-suicides has dropped slightly this year, the death rate of the children involved in the cases has increased.
This year, 29 incidents have been reported, with 27 children killed or injured by one of their parents.
The majority of the children were over the age of six.
The foundation said that about one-third of the cases this year involved marriage or relationship conflicts.
A smaller number were related to financial burdens and a couple of cases involved mental illnesses.
Unemployment was also cited in a few cases.
Foundation officials called on children to seek outside help if their parents act in a worrying manner.
Adults should also contact authorities about any worrying behavior they observe among friends or families that they fear could end in tragedy.
The foundation offers help and runs a hotline at (02) 2550-5959 extension 4. The Ministry of the Interior also has a mental welfare hotline -- at 1957 -- and the Department of Health runs a suicide prevention hotline at 0800-788-995, foundation officials said.
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