Taking care of an infant can be difficult for first-time parents or even seasoned parents, which is why they need to give their undivided attention when handling babies, otherwise heartbreaking incidents like this could potentially happen.
Source: daily parent
Just yesterday, a Singaporean father was sentenced to six months of imprisonment for involuntarily causing his own baby’s death. This tragic incident took place on 12 October 2015.
According to NST and Oriental Daily, the baby’s mother, Nurraishah Mahzan had earlier entrusted her 28-year-old husband, Mohamed Shiddiq Sazali to continue feeding their baby after she left for a drug supervision test.
So the father continued feeding the baby named Reyhana, with a bottle of milk using one hand, while playing with his smartphone on the other hand.
Image is for illustration purposes only | source: dream times
It was reported that Reyhana initially struggled and refused to drink the milk. She even used her tongue to pushed the tip of the bottle out of her mouth.
Sadly, Shiddiq who was on his phone wasn’t paying much attention to Reyhana. After crying for two minutes, the baby became quiet and unresponsive. Only then did the father finally remove the bottle.
Fearing that he would be blamed for what had happened, Shiddiq quietly put the baby back in her bed and patted her back.
At 10.20am, the baby’s grandfather came home from a wet market not only to find her not breathing, but with a weak pulse and a pale face too.
The mother then rushed home after receiving a text message from her husband. While waiting for the arrival of cops and paramedics, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was performed on Reyhana. Sadly, the baby died in the hospital on the same day.
In court, police investigator, Tony Won said,
“Although the cause of death cannot be ascertained… smothering or suffocation is unaccompanied by visible injuries or permanent mark, but chocking on milk may also be possible cause of death.”
Five weeks prior to the incident, the father had reportedly dropped the baby, which resulted in the baby suffering a fractured skull. Apparently, he saw Reyhana’s pacifier on the floor and tried to pick it up.
Source: public domain
That’s when she fell on the ground and hit the back of her head. Shiddiq admitted that he was playing with his phone too at that time.
Now that he is sentenced to six months in jail, we hope he can be a more responsible father in the future. Our condolences to the family.
Also read: This Baby Kept Touching His Head For a Reason But His Parents Almost Overlooked It
