18-Month-Old Dies From Drowning While In Babysitter's Care, Investigation Underway

An 18-month-old baby, who was found unconscious while in the care of a babysitter in Malaysia, was declared dead at a hospital Tuesday.

The child had been admitted to Seberang Jaya Hospital in Bukit Mertajam. The babysitter's daughter called an ambulance Tuesday morning from the house at Taman Seri Juru, senior police officer Shafee Abd Samad told the Star.

"The daughter saw her mother holding the unconscious toddler and called an ambulance, but the child was pronounced dead at 1pm," he said in a statement Wednesday.

The babysitter, who has not been identified, is also the aunt of the toddler's mother. The 52-year-old woman had been taking care of the child for the past month from 10 am to 6 pm, Mondays to Fridays.

During questioning, the babysitter told the police the child was not well and had vomited while she was with the baby, Utusan Malaysia reported [Google Translate showed]. The police launched an investigation and, during a search, seized several items from the house, including the child's underwear, a plastic stool, a handkerchief and a small bath basin.

"We also took a sample from the water bath, a swab and a strand of hair from the bath basin," he said.

The child's body was sent to the Seberang Jaya Hospital Forensics Department, and an autopsy revealed the toddler died due to drowning.

It remains unclear how the child drowned inside the home. The police did not reveal if any charges will be filed against the babysitter.

In March, a 17-month-old baby girl in Malaysia was declared dead a day after her head was accidentally submerged in a bathroom sink during her bath. The incident took place in the town of Penang. Authorities said the child was with her babysitter when the incident took place. The babysitter had placed the baby in the sink when she realized she forgot to get the towel. She went out of the bathroom to get the towel. "But when the caregiver got back to the bathroom, she found the victim's head had gone underwater with almost half her body submerged and the feet outside the basin," a local police officer, identified as Supt A. Anbalagan, told the Star at the time.