A father took his underage child to the office of the Commissioner for Children’s Rights wanting to leave the child there as he could not care for it properly, it emerged on Tuesday.

The incident was revealed by Commissioner Despo Michaelides. She told media that on Monday a man brought his six-year-old with him to her office, asking that he leave his child in the care of the authorities.

The man said the mother had ‘abandoned’ the child and that he could no longer care for it.

Michaelides said that immediately her office contacted child services. Social workers then came to the commissioner’s office and spoke with the father and the child.

It was decided that the child remain with the father for a few more days, until arrangements are made for the child’s transfer to a state facility.

“It would not be right for the child to be removed [from its father] suddenly,” Michaelides said.

The Commissioner said that handing the child over to the state would be the “last resort”. Social workers would meanwhile try to get in touch with the mother.

According to Michaelides, the mother resides illegally in Cyprus. She added that, as is often the case with foreign nationals, no support network exists, which makes the case even more complicated.

Apparently, the family was known to authorities. During prior court proceedings, the father had demonstrated that he could take care of the child.

It was unclear what led him to the recent decision to give the child up.

The Cyprus Mail tried to contact Michaelides, but she was not immediately available for comment.