Child, 5, dies after being left in parked car at Shah Alam hospital

SHAH ALAM: Another tragic case of a child left in a parked car has surfaced.

A five-year-old girl died recently after being accidentally left in the car by her mother at Hospital Shah Alam's parking lot.

Shah Alam OCPD Asst Comm Mohd Iqbal Ibrahim said the police received a report on the matter at about 8.01pm on Jan 30.

"Investigation showed the mother, who is a hospital staff member, had accidentally left the victim in the car after picking her up from a daycare centre at about 2pm on Tuesday.

"The victim was asleep when she was left in the car with the engine turned off," he said in a statement today.

ACP Mohd Iqbal said the 32-year-old mother only realised that she had left her daughter in the car when she was contacted by her husband at about 6pm on the same day.

"The victim, who was unconscious, was then rushed to Hospital Shah Alam's emergency department.

"Medical personnel attempted to save her but she was pronounced dead while receiving treatment," he said.

READ MORE: All must chip in to save kids from ‘forgotten child syndrome’

Post-mortem on the victim was conducted the following day, he said.

"Checks on the victim's body did not reveal any external or internal injury," he said.

ACP Mohd Iqbal said the case is classified under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act.

"We advise the public to be more careful after fetching their children from school or daycare centres to prevent accidentally leaving them in vehicles.

"We urge those with information on the case to contact investigating officer Insp Insp Syer Aidid at 013-6544996," he said.

National Early Childhood Intervention Council adviser Datuk Dr Amar Singh had said last November that the simple act of having a teddy bear in the front seat of a car may save a child’s life.

He said this was among the few steps which might prevent deaths of young children left in cars due to the “forgotten baby syndrome”.

“The recent deaths of young children left in cars and then dying due to thermal injury is of concern.

Twenty to 30 minutes in full sun in a closed vehicle is lethal to a young child, he had said.