Baby’s death at hospital daycare due to drowning, say police

2026-03-18 - 05:50

Penang police chief Azizee Ismail said several key aspects must be investigated before the case can be referred to the deputy public prosecutor. (Facebook pic) GEORGE TOWN: Preliminary post-mortem findings show that the death of a baby at a 24-hour nursery at Seberang Jaya Hospital last week was due to drowning, say Penang police. Sinar Harian reported state police chief Azizee Ismail as saying that investigations were ongoing, with several key aspects to be examined before the case is referred to the deputy public prosecutor. The four-month-old boy, identified as Hayl Haarith Syafaeez, was found unconscious at the nursery in the early hours of March 9. He was rushed to the hospital’s emergency department at about 4am after his mother, Ummu Habibah Wahab, 30, a nurse on the night shift at the time, was informed that her son had turned blue. A medical team attempted to resuscitate Hayl for around an hour, but their efforts failed. Two women working at the nursery were arrested the same day and remanded the following day to assist in investigations under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder. A social welfare department investigation later found that the two women, both aged 22, had not attended a mandatory childcare course. Their remand was later extended by seven days.