10-month-old baby found face down in cradle dies

SUNGAI BULOH: “I broke down when I saw his face and body had turned blue. My mother’s instincts told me he was gone,” said Nur Syazwanie Mustaffa, 27.

The financial consultant said her 10-month-old baby, Mikhael Sufyan Muhammad Syafiq was found lying face down and unconscious in a spring cot cradle at his babysitter’s home.

He was sent to a clinic at 10am last Friday.

Nur Syazwanie, a mother of two, said she and her husband, Muhammad Syafiq Mohd Salleh, 27, had rushed to the clinic after she was alerted of the incident at 11am.

“The babysitter, who is in her 50s, and her daughter, who is in her 30s, informed me that they found Mikhael face down in the cradle around 10am.

“The babysitter claimed that after bathing Mikhael, she had placed him in the cradle to sleep with his face down. “When she checked on him 30 minutes later, he was unconscious and his body was cold,” Nur Syazwanie said at her home in Bandar Seri Coalfields here today.

She said a doctor at the Sungai Buloh Hospital emergency unit had examined Mikhael and pronounced him dead. The child’s body was taken to the forensic unit for a post-mortem.

She said the babysitter should have watched Mikhael more carefully as she had reminded her that he was coming down with flu.

“She was taking care of four kids at the time, including my three-year-old daughter, Melissa Sofea.

“At home, Mikhael sleeps on his side or face down, but we do not use a cradle. The babysitter had asked me to bring a cradle, but I refused.

“I sent my kids there two months ago because there is nobody to take care of them at home when I and my husband go to work. I was willing to travel 20km to her house as we believed she was capable of taking care of my children.”

She said she had lodged a report at the Sungai Buloh Hospital police booth after a doctor told her that a police report was needed for the post-mortem and for further action to be taken.

“The initial report revealed that Mikhael died due to mucus in his lungs, which caused him to experience breathing difficulties. There was also bleeding in his intestines.

“We are waiting for the full autopsy report that is expected to be ready in a month’s time.”

Nur Syazwanie said she had bought two baju Melayu for Mikhael for Hari Raya Aidilfitri.

“His sister, Melissa, is always asking us about Mikhael. We accept that he is gone.

“I hope the babysitter will be more careful when taking care of kids. We have decided to send Melissa to another babysitter,” she said, adding that Mikhael was laid to rest at the Bukit Timah Muslim Cemetery last Saturday.

Sungai Buloh district police chief Superintendent S. Somu said no elements of crime had been found in the case and police had classified the case as sudden death.

“But, the investigation is ongoing, pending a full post-mortem report,” he said.