MANILA - A one-year-old girl died on Sunday morning after she drank a glass of water which also contained silver cleaning fluid.

The child identified as Triza was declared dead on arrival by doctors at the Ospital ng Maynila at around 11 a.m.

Her parents, Crisanto Manlapig and Mirriam Mabingnay, refused to let the police investigate their daughter's death, saying it was an accident.

Senior Police Officer 3 Paul Dennis Javier of the Manila Police District homicide section said that Manlapig signed a waiver to formalize his desire not to have his child's death probed anymore.

"I believe that my child accidentally drank silver cleaner that had been mixed into a glass of water and a police investigation is unnecessary," Manlapig stated.

He went on to say that what happened was an accident, adding that Triza had gotten hold of a glass of water laced with silver cleaner inside their home at the PNR Compound in Paco, Manila.

Warning to parents

Although the police said they would no longer conduct an investigation into the child's death, Javier said this should serve as a warning for parents to hide poisonous chemicals from their children.

In the last few years, there have been several deaths due to the accidental or deliberate ingestion of silver cleaner.

Based on information provided by the University of the Philippines-National Poison Management and Poison Control Center (UP-NPMPCC), environmental group EcoWaste said that the fluid, which is used to clean silver jewelry, was the fourth most commonly ingested chemical poison in 2008.

It was also the third most commonly swallowed poison among children.

Between January and April last year, UP-NPMPCC handled 99 cases of silver cleaner poisoning involving 11 accidental and 88 non-accidental cases, resulting in the death of six people aged 18 and below.

This prompted several concerned groups and individuals to push for a ban on the sale of the poisonous fluid.

-Philippine Daily Inquirer/Asia News Network