SIX-MONTH-OLD BABY DIES, BELIEVED SMOTHERED BY A BLANKET

JASIN, Dec 9 (Bernama) -- A six-month-old baby boy tragically died after he was believed to have suffocated under a blanket at his babysitter's house in Merlimau here this morning.

The victim's father Nazrul Nizam Mohd Tahar, 29, said he learnt about the tragic incident of his only son after being contacted by his wife Ainol Izzah Raslan, 25, at about 11.40 am today.

"The babysitter told me that Harraz Noah’s lips had turned blue... She explained that before the incident, she fed the baby and burped him. She then tried to put him to sleep in the cradle, but he refused and preferred to sleep on the mattress.

"After he fell asleep, the babysitter went to the kitchen to do some chores. When she checked on him later, she found him covered with a blanket. She immediately called my wife, who rushed to the babysitter's house," he told reporters at Melaka Hospital tonight.

Nazrul Nizam said it was the fourth month he had been sending his son to the baby-sitter's house and no incidents had occurred before.

"The first, second, third month was okay... the fourth month, I don't know why it's (ended) like this... we don't blame her (the babysitter), it's destiny... that might be the reason, right? We accept it.

“The first, second, and third months were fine. I never thought this would happen in the fourth month... We don’t blame her (the babysitter); it’s fate... maybe it was just meant to be. We accept it.

“She (babysitter) had been caring for our child well. She loved him like her own... She had also experienced a miscarriage before. Usually, when we picked up our son, there were never any bruises on his body," he said.

Meanwhile, Jasin District Police chief DSP Ahmad Jamil Radzi, when contacted, confirmed the incident and the case is still under investigation.

-- BERNAMA