A four-year-old girl died after she was left in her father’s locked car for almost 10 hours in Bukit Makmur, Sungai Lalang, Sungai Petani, yesterday.
Kuala Muda District Police Chief ACP Adzli Abu Shah said the father only realised what had happened when he returned to the car at 6.20 pm.
“Before the incident, the father who was a lorry driver had sent the victim’s older sister to Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Teluk Bayu, Sungai Petani at 7.30 am. before heading to his workplace at Bukit Makmur, Sungai Lalang.
“The father was supposed to have sent the victim to her grandmother’s house in Kampung Bukit, Sungai Pasir, but forgot she was sleeping in the back seat,” he said in a statement today.
Adzli said after arriving at his workplace, the father, in his 30s, went out to drive a lorry to several areas before returning to his workplace at 4.30 pm and went into the office to do some work.
“When he finished work, the father went to his car where he saw the victim unconscious in the back seat.
“He then made an emergency call about the incident, but the girl was confirmed dead and her body sent to the Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital for a post-mortem,” he said.
The victim, who died of heatstroke, was believed to have been left in the vehicle for almost 10 hours, with all the windows shut.
Police are investigating the case under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001 for ill-treatment, neglect, abandonment or exposure of children.