SHAH ALAM: A five-year-old girl died after being left inside her mother's car near the back entrance of the Shah Alam Hospital yesterday.
Shah Alam district police chief Assistant Commissioner Mohd Iqbal Ibrahim said the police received a report about the incident from a medical officer at the hospital at 8pm.
He said preliminary investigations revealed the victim was accidentally left in a Perodua Axia car after being picked up from a nearby daycare centre about 2pm.
"The victim was asleep in the car and the engine was turned off. The 34-year-old mother, who is also a hospital staff, only realised that she has left the child behind after her husband contacted her at 6pm.
"The unconscious victim was then taken to the hospital's Emergency Department and efforts to resusistate her failed. She was confirmed dead by the medical officers there," he said in a statement today.
A post-mortem was conducted at 2pm yesterday, with the results pending laboratory investigations.
He said an examination of the victim found there was no external or internal injuries on the child.
Iqbal said the investigation is carried out under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001, and those convicted could be fined up to RM50,000 or imprisoned for up to 20 years or both.
"The public is advised to be more careful when picking up their children from school or daycare centres, especially the younger ones, to prevent such incidents from recurring.
"Anyone with information related to this case can contact Inspector Syer Aidid at 013-6544996," he said.