PARENTS have been urged by police to be more vigilant when supervising their children.
The request was made by police after two children were tragically killed in separate incidents in the past two weeks, with the latest death yesterday.
A nine-year-old girl was hit by a private vehicle while attempting to cross at the junction of the Kings Rd and Nasinu Rd yesterday morning.
She was taken to the hospital where she later died. Her death brings the road death toll to 21 compared to 23 for the same period last year.
The driver of the vehicle was taken into police custody yesterday for questioning.
In a separate incident at the end of last month, a three-year- old girl lost her life as a result of injuries she sustained to her head while playing.
The victim was playing outside her home when a coconut trunk used as a netball post fell on her.The child was taken to Sigatoka Hospital and later transferred to Lautoka Hospital where she sucumbed to her injuries.
Police spokeswoman Ana Naisoro said parents needed to be more vigilant with children and understand the environment they were in.
"Parents just need to be wary of where their children are and to always make sure they are supervised in whatever they do," said Ms Naisoro.
She said children needed to be watched at all times especially when crossing roads.
"Children have a tendency to run when parents least expect it so it is vital that parents hold on to their children's hands when crossing roads," she said.
Meanwhile, the body of a 13-year-old student was found in his family plantation in Nabua on Friday.
Ms Naisoro confirmed the student had taken his own life and was found by his younger brother.