A Vaud woman who left her two-year-old son unattended to go to the disco has lost the care of her child and was convicted of breaking the law.

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A Lausanne court recently handed the 22-year-old mother a fine of 1,800 francs ($1,900), suspended for a period of three years, after finding her guilty of abandoning her parental responsibilities.

The case, reported on by 20 Minutes newspaper on Wednesday, dates back to May 2011 when the woman had left her child in her apartment in a Lausanne suburb one evening to go clubbing.

In her absence, her son began crying, waking neighbours, who contacted police.

Officers arrived to find the child standing in his crib in tears.

When the mother returned from the discotheque she was questioned by police and her case was handed over to justice authorities.   
 
The file was also handed over to Vaud’s child protection service.

As a result, the child was placed in a foster home, 20 Minutes reported.

The woman was allowed to see the boy but she had to prove that she was capable of looking after him in a responsible manner.

However, the whereabouts of the woman are not currently known to justice officials, suggesting that she has cut ties with the child.

She was sentenced in absentia, according to the report.

The case recalls a similar one dating from 2006 in Yverdon-les-Bains (Vaud), which ended in tragedy.

A three-year-old girl fell off the balcony of a six-storey apartment after her mother left her alone to spend an evening with a boyfriend.

Upon her return at 5.30am, the woman discovered her child at the foot of the apartment building.

The girl was helicoptered to Lausanne’s university hospital where she died a short time later.