SEREMBAN: Fourteen witnesses have been called to testify in the Coroner's Court on the first day of the inquest into the death of 15-month-old Nour Rania Asyifaa Yuseri or Baby Syifa at a childcare centre in Bandar Sri Sendayan in February.
Proceedings before Coroner Datin Surita Budin began with Lance Corporal Khairunnisa Muzlan from Mambau Police Station, who was the recipient of the first report on the toddler’s death.
It was followed by Sendayan police bit personnel, Lance Corporal Muhammad Faizul Ab Rahman; Sendayan Health Clinic medical officer Dr Nur Aishah Abdul Latiff, Tuanku Jaafar Hospital (HTJ) medical officer Dr Muhammad Afiq Mohd Zain; as well as several parents of children at the daycare centre.
Also present at the court were the victim’s parents, Yuseri Yusoff and Anida Idrus.
The prosecution was led by Negeri Sembilan's Prosecution director Badius Zaman Ahmad, lawyers representing the victim’s family, Hafiz Norkhan and Gaithri Thomas while lawyer Norliana Ali Othman acted as an observer on behalf of the babysitter.
During the question-and-answer session carried out by the Deputy Public Prosecutor, Husni Fairos Ramly, the third witness, Dr Nur Aishah said the victim was brought to the Sendayan Health Clinic at about 3.45 pm by a woman.
The witness told the court that she then instructed the clinic’s personnel to fetch the victim to the treatment room where several procedures were performed on the toddler such as providing breathing support and administering adrenaline jabs and fluid but the victim did not respond.
She said the case was then handed over to Dr Muhammad Afiq who arrived at the clinic at 4.15 pm, however, the HTJ medical officer pronounced the victim dead at 4.30 pm.
Dr Nur Aishah told the court that she did not know the cause of death, adding that she was only informed by other medical officers that the toddler was caught in a cloth cradle.
The proceedings will continue on Nov 10.
On Feb 23, the media reported that Baby Syifa was found unconscious after her head was entangled in a cloth cradle at a childcare centre.
She was earlier fed milk and then left to sleep in the cloth cradle by a babysitter.-Bernama
