News of an eleven-month-old baby girl raped and sodomized by her babysitter’s husband in Malaysia has left us heartbroken and angry. The baby girl died on Saturday November 10 after being in hospital for two days in a critical condition, reports Channel NewsAsia.
The baby girl raped and abused has left a nation horrified. The little one suffered in hospital for two days, before she gave up her fight to live. Image: Facebook screengrab
Baby girl raped, sodomized and abused in brutal attack
Little Nur Muazara Ulfa Muhammad Zainal (Zara) was just eleven months old and the love of her parents’ lives.
According to Kajang police chief ACP Ahmad Dzaffir Mohd Yussof, the baby girl’s parents — Noraihan Ab Aziz, 22 and Muhammad Zainal Abduk Rahaman, 27 — lived in the same housing estate as the babysitter. They had been sending the child there since September.
On Wednesday 7 November, Zara’s parents dropped her at the babysitter’s house in the morning as usual. She was reportedly in perfect health then.
Bernama news agency quotes the police chief in a statement he released on the incident:
“Based on the statement of the victim’s mother, when she was sent to the caretaker’s home in the morning, the victim was in good health. However, the victim was said to have suffered from shortness of breath in the afternoon and was rushed to the Bandar Baru Bangi Clinic, before being referred to the Serdang Hospital.
“Further examination on the victim found a tear on the victim’s hymen, and a subsequent examination found that the victim’s anus was also torn.”
The post-mortem by the Serdang Hospital’s Pathology Department reportedly discovered that the baby’s ultimate death was caused by a “blunt impact to the head”, resulting in her skull fracturing.
Both the babysitter and her husband have been arrested.
In his statement, Ahmad Dzaffir confirms that, “urine tests found the man positive for methamphetamine.”
No parent ever wants to be the one to bury their child. Image: Facebook screengrab
Outrage, shock, sadness, and calls for harsher punishments
News of the baby girl raped, abused and ultimately killed, has left netizens furious and shocked. They’re also demanding that the Malaysian government enforce harsher punishments on the perpetrators of such hideous crimes.
According to Malaysiakini, many people are questioning society’s deterioration, with so many cases of child abuse, sexual abuse and molestation of children being reported.
Others are demanding that the Malaysian government should reconsider abolishing the death sentence, that it is needed to punish criminals like this.
This latest case comes just months after another horrific case of a baby who died at the babysitter’s house. The baby boy’s tiny body was later found stuffed in a fridge.
Little Zara’s mother will carry the agony of her baby’s death for a lifetime. Image: Facebook screengrab
Baby girl raped, a family left in pain
Zara’s mother Noraihana works in a Bandar Baru Bangi factory. She reportedly said she and her family (they also have a four-year-old son) will carry the emotional scars of their daughter’s death for a lifetime.
Speaking to Bernama, the grieving mother said, “My heart ached when I looked at Zara’s heart-wrenching condition, I leave it to the police to investigate and take appropriate action against the perpetrator.”
She also talks about that fateful day her baby girl was attacked. Noraihan reportedly said that on Wednesday (7 Nov) evening, she was contacted by the hospital and told her baby was in a critical condition.
She continues, “The caretaker had called me five times, but my phone was out of coverage at the time. Upon arriving at the hospital, I found the caretaker feeling very sorry, but her husband was just calm as if nothing had happened.”
Noraihan did not know the babysitter personally before sending her baby there. She had apparently found her on Facebook after the woman posted an ad offering babysitter services.
The mum says when she visited before sending her baby there for the first time, she saw nothing suspicious. However, the woman’s husband was not at home at the time.
Now, the bereaved mother is urging all parents to be careful when choosing a babysitter or childcare centre.
“You’re in peace there my dear… Wait for mother in heaven…”, was her most recent Facebook status.
Our hearts are breaking for this family. May they find the peace they need at this time, and the strength they need to heal.
We hope the perpetrator is served the maximum penalty for his crime.
Laws for Child Care Centres and caregivers in Malaysia
All child care centres require a license to operate in Malaysia. But there are still those who offer babysitting services quietly on the side.
These places are cheaper because they usually hire workers who have minimal experience in caring for a baby. Their staff have no background or any training in early childhood education. In fact, some may not even know first aid at all.
But those cheaper rates might appeal to smaller young families who are just starting out. Finances might be tight with rent and other matters.
They might be desperate to find someone to care for their child while they work and earn a living. This could be the reason why some families end up choosing an unregistered and unregulated child care centre. Laws might be there, but if there are no regular checks and no proper enforcement, situations like this can happen again.
In Singapore, all child care centres are governed by the Child Care Centres Act (Cap. 37A) and Child Care Centres Regulations (Cap. 37A, Section 19).
All child care centres MUST be licensed and they must comply with standards set out in the Regulations made under the Act, or any other requirements that may be specified by the Director of Social Welfare.
But remember parents, despite laws being there to protect you, you still need to do your research and choose wisely.
Also read: Telltale signs an adult is engaging in child sexual abuse
References: Channel NewsAsia, Bernama, Malaysiakini.
Featured image: Screengrab, Shawalmuazzam Md Isa| Facebook