10-minute ‘oversight’ cost me my child, says mum

 

Gerakan president Dominic Lau with grieving mother Norasikin Juliar, whose baby girl fell out of an open window at her third-floor flat last week.

KUALA LUMPUR: A 10-minute oversight was all it took for a mother to lose her 11-month-old daughter in a freak accident in their PPR flat last week, a tragic experience that she wants other parents to learn from.

Norasikin Juliar, 37, said she had left her child with her siblings and cousins to play in the room when she decided to fold the laundry in the back room.

“Ten minutes later, I heard her sister screaming and I rushed to the room. I saw the window open and feared for the worst.

“I saw my child on the ground. She had climbed on top of a double-decker bed and pushed against an open window of our third-floor flat,” she said.

Her eyes welled with tears and yet she put on a stoic front while recounting the tragedy during a visit by Gerakan president Dominic Lau at the PPR Sri Aman Jinjang in Kuala Lumpur.

Lau said the tragedy could have been avoided and he would propose to the government that all PPR flats be equipped with safety grilles.

Norasikin said “everything happened so quickly. Only God knew how I felt at that moment”. Her other children had not realised that the window was open because the curtains were drawn, she added.

The mother of seven said the thought of her daughter climbing on to the bed and falling did cross her mind but she brushed it aside.

“There is no mother who would want this to happen to their child or other children. I would just like to remind parents not to be distracted when supervising your kids.

“If possible, make sure your children are in front of your eyes at all times. Things can go wrong within minutes,” she said.

Norasikin said her PPR flat did not come with window grilles, adding that it would cost over RM2,000 to be installed.

“We have some money but we use it to send our kids to school and spend on daily expenses. My husband, who is a technician, is the only breadwinner. His income depends on whether or not he gets any jobs,” she added.

She said her husband and her are still traumatised by the loss of their child, but the family is coping as best as they can.

However, she said they were all staying strong with the upcoming Hari Raya celebrations, saying that she was looking forward to spending it with her siblings, who all live around the area.

Lau said Gerakan had paid for the installation of a grille at the flat yesterday, aside from giving cash to help the family with their daily expenses. - FMT