Parents are often warned not to leave their toddlers inside their vehicles for long periods of time.
A 1-year-old baby girl apparently died of suffocation after she was left in the backseat of her father’s car for approximately 5 hours. The tragic incident took place yesterday (Tuesday, 13th September) in Saleng, Kulai.
Kulai District police chief Superintendent Razak Md Said told The New Straits Times that the man’s wife had placed their daughter in the backseat of his car so that he could send her to the babysitter’s house by 9.30am. Instead, the father drove straight to his work place in Bandar Putra without realising his child was in the vehicle.
The father only realised his mistake when the girl’s babysitter called him at 3pm, inquiring why he didn’t drop off his daughter as usual. “He immediately rushed to the car and found the girl in a weak state and believed to have died,” Razak was quoted as saying.
The infant was pronounced dead after her father rushed her to the Temenggung Seri Maharaja Tun Ibrahim Hospital.
According to Lucy Johnston, because babies’ airways are still developing, young infants are at risk of suffocation when their bodies become scrunched up, making it hard for them to breathe.
The aforementioned case is currently being investigated under Section 31(a) of the Child Act 2001 for child neglect.
Source: NST.
