Boy dies after being left in car for over four hours

 

A three-year-and-11-month-old boy died after being left for more than four hours inside a car in front of a kindergarten in Taman Ria, Sungai Petani yesterday.

Kuala Muda Police chief ACP Adzli Abu Shah said the boy was found unconscious in the Proton Waja belonging to the kindergarten principal at 12.15 pm.

He said the boy, whose house was located near the kindergarten, was picked up by the principal to go to the kindergarten at 7.45 am and he sat in the back seat of the car.

“The principal also picked up another boy, aged five, who sat in the front passenger seat. When they arrived at the kindergarten, a teacher approached the principal’s car, opened the front passenger door and took the older boy by the hand and led him into the kindergarten.

“The principal then drove away to park her car outside the kindergarten’s compound and left after switching off the engine. The victim was left in the stationary car with the doors locked and no ventilation openings,” he said in a statement here today.

Adzli said at 12.15 pm, a teacher notified the principal about the boy’s absence, which prompted her to rush to the parking lot and found him unconscious inside her car.

“The principal then called an ambulance and tried to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) but the child remained unresponsive. He was then rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead,” he said.

The principal has been remanded for three days starting today to facilitate further investigations under Section 31(1) (a) of the Child Act 2001. - Bernama