A FIVE-year-old girl died after she was found unconscious in a car at a hospital parking lot in Shah Alam on Tuesday.
Shah Alam police chief, Mohd Iqbal Ibrahim said they received a report from a man, who is also a medical officer about 8.01 pm.
"Investigations revealed the victim was left alone by her 34-year-old mother in the car, a Perodua Axia after the mother picked her from a daycare nearby about 2 pm.
"When the mother left the victim, she was still sleeping and the engine was switched off. The mother, who is also a hospital staff, only realised when her husband contacted her," he said.
Mohd Iqbal said the victim was rushed to the Emergency Ward of the Shah Alam Hospital in an unconscious state but was confirmed dead after attempts to save her failed.
He said the case was being investigated under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001.
Last year, Women, Family and Community Development Minister, Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri expressed concern over the number of Forgotten Baby Syndrome cases, also referred to as hot car deaths.
In November last year, a two-year-old girl died after she was left alone in a vehicle for eight hours.
Initial investigations revealed that the mother had dropped off two of her other children at about 7 am at a school nearby.
After that, she proceeded to the child’s kindergarten. However, when she arrived, she received a call, believed to be about her online business, and forgot about the child in the car.
In October, a 16-month-old baby girl died after she was found unconscious in a car at a public university in Kuala Nerus, Kuala Terengganu.
Initial investigations revealed that the victim’s father had forgotten to send the baby to the daycare centre at the university campus before going to work at the same university.
Earlier in October, an 8-month-old baby girl died after she was left in a car parked at the Canselor Tuanku Muhriz Hospital in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur.
The girl was mistakenly left in the vehicle when her mother, a doctor at the hospital, went to work thinking that she had already sent the child to a daycare centre. – The Vibes, February 1, 2024
