Babysitter in Malaysia arrested after boy, 9, ends up in ICU

KUALA LUMPUR — SIBU: A babysitter has been arrested on suspicion of abusing two of the four boys under her care in her home in Jalan Permaijaya which has been illegally converted into a childcare center.

One of the two boys, a nine-year-old, was admitted to the ICU by his parents at 1pm on Monday (Jan 7).

He is said to be in critical condition with internal bleeding in the inner part of his brain and has bruises on both eyes. The left side of his head is also fractured.

The other boy, a 17-month-old toddler, has a broken upper tooth and bruises on his lower and upper lips.

Sibu OCPD Asst Comm Stanley Jonathan Ringgit said on Wednesday (Jan 9) the 39-year old female babysitter was arrested on Tuesday evening, following a report lodged by the parents of the nine-year old boy.

ACP Stanley said the parents, a 40-year-old man and his wife, both teachers, went to the babysitter’s home after being informed on Monday (Jan 7) at noon that his boy had breathing problem.

They had dropped the boy off at the babysitter’s at 5.45am.

“Arriving at the place, they saw the boy lying motionless on the bed and was not crying. This prompted them to rush him to the hospital,” he added.

He said that a preliminary report by a neurosurgeon of the hospital showed that the victim had bleeding in the inner part of the brain, as well as on both eyes. He also suffered fractures on the left side of his head.

“The victim is in critical condition and has to rely on an oxygen machine to breathe,” he said.

The victim is the third child in the family and had been under the care of the babysitter since August last year.

In the second case, he said the babysitter called the toddler’s mother at 1.20pm on Jan 8, on the directive of the police.

The victim had been under the suspect’s care since he was just three months old.

The 32-year-old mother of the boy was shocked when she saw her son had bruises on his lips.

ACP Stanley said the suspect would be remanded for investigation under Section 31 (1) (a) of the Child Act 2001.

He said they discovered that the suspect had been operating the childcare centre without a valid license.