An 11-month-old baby girl died at Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital in Alor Setar at 10:42 a.m. on June 26 after four days of treatment. She had fallen unconscious on June 22 at her babysitter’s home in Taman Permaipura, Bedong, Kedah, where she reportedly fell from a chair while being fed, according to the babysitter who informed the baby’s father at 2:15 p.m. that day [1, 2, 3]. The baby was the only child of a couple working at a private hospital near Bedong [1, 3]. The babysitter, a woman in her 30s, was remanded from June 26 to June 28 to assist police investigations [1, 2, 3].
In a separate incident in Kuala Lumpur earlier in the same week, a six-month-old baby girl also died after becoming unconscious under a babysitter’s care. The babysitter informed the mother at 5:04 p.m. that the baby had been unconscious for about 30 minutes at the babysitter’s home. The baby was taken to Pantai Hospital Kuala Lumpur but was pronounced dead at 6:08 p.m. on June 23 [4, 5]. Initial reports suggested the Kuala Lumpur baby might have choked while being fed milk, but police are awaiting forensic results to determine the exact cause of death [4, 5].
Both cases are currently being investigated under Section 31 (or 31(1)(a)) of the Child Act 2001 dealing with child neglect and abuse [4, 1, 2, 3, 5]. The investigations and remand of the Bedong babysitter continue through June 28.
