LAHAD DATU: A two-year-old girl was found unconscious in the backseat of a car with scald marks and foaming at the mouth after being left for three hours at Taman Aman near here on Wednesday.
Lahad Datu police chief Assistant Commissioner Nasri Mansor said before the incident, the victim had followed her 31-year-old mother to fetch her two older siblings from school at around 1pm.
“After fetching the children, the mother parked the car by the roadside and asked her eldest child to bring the two-year-old inside.
“The mother then proceeded to enter the house to perform prayers on the second floor before she took a nap. She only came down with her husband at 3.45pm to have a meal,” said Nasri when contacted today.
Nasri said while she was eating, she called the victim, who’s her youngest child, but there was no answer.
“The mother then frantically searched the entire house and the neighbourhood but couldn’t find the victim.
“She then checked her car and found the victim lying motionless in the back seat,” he said.
The victim was brought out from the car before she was rushed to the Lahad Datu hospital where she was pronounced dead.
“There were scald marks on her left face and arm. Post-mortem found that the scalding was due to the extreme heat inside the vehicle and the marks appeared after she died.
“The cause of death was extreme heat. The mother was detained soon after a medical officer lodged a police report.
“The case is being investigated under Section 304A of the Penal Code for causing death by negligence,” Nasri said.