An investigation is underway into the death of a four-year-old child. The child died after consuming a methadone pill belonging to a neighbour who had lost a box of her medicine.
The four-year-old boy living in a new social housing block in Haren, a suburb of Brussels, died last Saturday 13 January. He fell ill and was taken to Queen Fabiola University Children's Hospital, where he passed away.
It soon emerged the child may have consumed a methadone pill owned by a neighbour, who used methadone as a replacement therapy while recovering from a severe heroin and cocaine addiction, Het Nieuwsblad reported.
The woman was interrogated and reportedly admitted to losing a methadone container around six weeks before the incident. How the child obtained the medicine is still unclear. The woman was released following her police interview as she had an alibi at the time of the incident.
Autopsy results are being awaited, along with the intervention of the forensic laboratory of the federal judicial police. Still, the Brussels Prosecutor's Office confirmed on Thursday that an investigation is underway into involuntary manslaughter.
The Brussels Prosecutor's Office declined to provide further comment as it is still working to determine the precise circumstances surrounding the incident.
