Baby dies, girl injured after both fall from third-storey window

A couple in Kajang, Selangor, waited nine years for a baby and were blessed with a little boy.

But their joy lasted a mere three months.

Tragedy struck when the baby died after falling from the third storey, along with a six-year-old girl.

It is learnt that the couple's 41-year-old babysitter had left the baby with her six-year-old daughter late last week.

Both the baby and the girl were found sprawled at the bottom of a block of flats, The Star reported.

The girl had multiple injuries, but survived, but the three-month-old died while receiving treatment.

On the day of the accident, the babysitter had seen that the infant was sound asleep and she told her daughter to look after the baby while she sent her eldest son, 11, to a nearby religious school.

Upon returning home, she was surprised to see that the house was empty.

She frantically searched for the two and discovered that the girl and the baby had fallen.

Both victims were taken to Kajang Hospital.

Kajang Assistant Commissioner Ab Rashid Ab Wahad said it was believed that the two might have slipped through a window in the master bedroom.

He told The Star: "Preliminary investigations suggested that the girl might have climbed up on the baby cot to open the window. She might also have been carrying the baby when opening the window and slipped."

He added that the girl suffered a broken spine and hip while the infant died some 12 hours after the fall.

A neighbour, who refused to be named, said she only realised that something had occurred when she heard loud screams.

"I never could have imagined something that horrible could happen. I am really sad for the family," she was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, the mother of six-year-old Nurhayada Sofia Musa is in the spotlight after CCTV footage of her fiddling with her phone shortly before the girl fell to her death at a shopping centre in Malaysia sparked outrage among Malaysians on social media.

In the minute-long footage, Nurhayada could be seen playing near the escalator of Kenanga Wholesale City Mall in Kuala Lumpur with her sister and her mo­ther nearby.

The police said they are investigating the possibility of negligence by Nurhayada's mother, The Star reported.

A source close to the investigation said police had questioned the victim's parents.

Their statements were taken to facilitate investigations into the case, which was classified as "sudden death" with foul play.

Malaysia Shopping Malls Asso­ciation adviser H.C. Chan called for greater safety precautions, saying gaps should not exist between panels and escalators.

"There should be a barrier to prevent anyone from entering the space," he was quoted as saying.

This article was first published on April 6, 2015.
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