Happiness turned to heartbreak for Malaysian influencer Jasmine Yong on Mother’s Day (May 12) when her two-year-old son Enzo fell into a hotel pool and never regained consciousness.
After fighting for his life in the ICU for five days, the boy died last Friday.
Yong and her husband, fellow influencer Lim Kong Wang, took to Instagram the next day to break the news of Enzo’s death.
She also posted photos of the boy’s funeral service, where they had burnt a drawing of the family as part of the offerings. The couple also released balloons into the air and spoke of their wishes for him to be happy.
“Our baby Enzo has gone to heaven and become a happy little angel. He is no longer in pain or suffering, and we’re grateful for everyone’s prayers and blessings,” they wrote in Chinese.
Recounting what happened that fateful day, Yong said the family of three had gone on a staycation to celebrate Mother’s Day, checking into the hotel a day before.
Enzo was drinking his milk and snuggling on the bed beside his parents when he dozed off. The couple then fell asleep too.
”When I woke up, he was not next to me,” Yong said.
She and her husband then noticed that the door leading to the hotel’s indoor pool, which was locked before, was open.
To their horror, they found Enzo in the water.
Yong said she immediately performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the boy.
As the signal in the hotel room was weak, they were unable to call for help. Her husband also could not find anyone outside their room to help.
The couple then carried Enzo to the hotel lobby, where they asked an employee to call for an ambulance and assist in emergency aid.
Enzo was resuscitated half an hour after arriving at the hospital, but remained unconscious and was put on a ventilator.
Four days after the incident, Yong posted on Instagram, urging her followers to pray for Enzo to regain consciousness.
Alas, his heart stopped beating the next afternoon.
“Nobody wanted such an incident to happen,” wrote Yong, adding that the situation is “not complicated”.
She urged the media not to exaggerate their reports, take the incident out of context, or create a fuss. She also asked the public not to falsely believe rumours.
“Please let baby Enzo go in peace, thank you,” she pleaded.