A baby in China reportedly choked to death following alleged mishandling by a nanny, who was on her first day on duty.
The baby’s cause of death was believed to be due to a significant amount of milk in the lungs, according to South China Morning Post.
The nanny was hired in April from a housekeeping service company by a couple who lived in the Shaanxi province in central China.
The couple agreed to a monthly sum of 12,000 yuan (RM7,722) for the nanny due to her skills in providing professional post-partum care for the infant and the mother during the confinement period after birth per traditional Chinese practice.
Due to the infant’s premature status and three-month long hospitalision previously, the parents sought the nanny’s “platinum” services.
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During the nanny’s first day working on April 10, the parents quickly caught on to her “unprofessionalism” and attempted to replace her through the same company but failed to do so.
As the father fed the baby in the evening, he noticed the child took longer than 10 minutes to finish the milk and was unresponsive – prompting them to seek medical attention and rushed to the hospital.
However, attempts to rescue the infant failed as the doctor reported that the child had a high amount of milk in the lungs and the autopsy confirmed the baby’s cause of death caused by “milk suffocation”, as quoted.
Despite the parents taking the matter to the police, police could not file their case as it was considered a “civil matter”, as quoted.
To make matters worse, the company had not provided an explanation regarding the situation, nor have they compensated the couple, saying that they will bear 10 to 20% of the responsibility, according to the infant’s mother.
Later, it was said that the company reached out to the parents for a resolution.
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