COURT GRANTS COUPLE DEFAULT JUDGMENT AGAINST BABYSITTERS FOR BABY'S DEATH

KUALA LUMPUR, May 10 (Bernama) -- The Sessions Court here has awarded a default judgment to a married couple in their lawsuit against two babysitters accused of negligence, which led to the death of their three-month-old baby girl from choking on milk last year.

Judge Zawiyah Saad allowed the application by the plaintiffs, Mohd Rafi Abd Razak, 26, and Anis Amalina Mazlin, 28, after the two female babysitters, aged 58 and 35, failed to appear to respond to the lawsuit on the scheduled date.

The couple’s lawyer Muhammad Hariz Md Yusoff, told reporters that the court recorded the default judgment on May 7 and allowed the plaintiffs' claims. 

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"However, a new date for the assessment of costs has yet to be determined by the court," he said during a media briefing at the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex today.

Muhammad Hariz clarified that his client's legal team had filed the lawsuit in accordance with procedures, but both the defendants, who are mother and daughter, were late in responding to it. 

"It is understood that the defendants have also appointed a lawyer after the default judgment was recorded by the court," he said, assisted by lawyers Nur Fatin Syakinah Kamarudin and Noor Syazwani Mohamad Yusri.

According to the lawsuit filed on April 9, the incident occurred on June 15, 2023, when the first plaintiff, the deceased baby's father, entrusted her to the defendant's care at 6.48 am. However, at 11.40 am he received a call from her saying the baby was in a weakened state, not breathing, and telling him to urgently return.

The first plaintiff stated that he told the babysitter to call for an ambulance immediately. He was later informed by the defendant that his baby had been taken by an ambulance to the hospital, but she did not know where, prompting him to rush to the nearest one, Hospital Putrajaya.

"Hospital Putrajaya later confirmed that his baby was no longer breathing despite emergency treatment and confirmed that the baby passed away at 12.17 noon on the same day (June 15, 2023).

"I was informed that my baby's stomach was full of milk as there was a lot of it coming out through her mouth and nose during the emergency procedure," said the plaintiff in his statement of claim.

The plaintiffs demanded damages of over RM100,000 from both defendants, including compensation for grief, special damages, and any other award deemed appropriate by the court. 

-- BERNAMA