Tuesday March 27, 2012

Parents rap nursery employees

SHAH ALAM: The parents of a three-month-baby, who died at a nursery, claimed that the staff did not rush their child to a hospital.

They were also frustrated that all the nursery did was tell them to rush back to check on Tan Yan Xue, who had stopped breathing at the nursery in Setia Alam here last Thursday.

“I work in Glenmarie and normally, it takes about 30 minutes for me to get to Setia Alam,” said the mother Tai Loon Eng, 29.

“I sped back and that took me 15 minutes. They did not call for (medical) help or send him to the hospital,” she said.

First to arrive at the nursery was Tai's neighbour M. Shanthi, 39, who went over after receiving a call from Tai.

Tai was shocked to see the baby's body stiff, with blue-black marks around his hands, legs and mouth.

She rushed her son to a nearby paediatrician who performed CPR on the baby but to no avail.

“A St John's ambulance arrived shortly after but medical officers refused to accept the baby as he did not have a pulse,” Tai said.

She said Yan Xue was given a clean bill of health at a medical centre in Subang Jaya a week before he died but she had decided not to take action against the nursery for his cause of death until the post-mortem results were out.

“The post-mortem results will be out in a month. We will wait for the lab report before considering legal action.

“A physical check on the body showed that everything appeared normal.

“We are waiting for the lab report to see if there is milk in our baby's lungs,” said Tai, who remained composed throughout the press conference.

She said she was told that Yan Xue could have either died from milk suffocation or sudden infant death syndrome.

Tai said one of the reasons she sent her son to the nursery was because it boasted round-the-clock CCTV monitoring.

“I called the owner and asked to view back (the recording on Thursday) but she said it was not switched on that day,” she said.

Her husband Tan Khai Yih, 34, said he had a brief argument with the owner on Thursday after Yan Xue died as she allegedly scolded him for sending his “sick son” to the nursery.

The parents have lodged a police report.

The nursery owner refused to comment, saying she was liaising directly with the authorities.

Selangor Welfare Department director Nik Omar Nik Abd Rahman said he had yet to receive the complaint but would investigate the case.

More News