[News] 9-month-old baby chokes to death on fish ball

2010/04/14
TAMPIN: A 9-month-old baby choked on a fish ball and died while being fed by a caretaker at a nursery in Jalan Cantik near the Tampin Hospital yesterday.

Wan Nur Alif Wan Arif Fadhla was sent by his parents to the nursery at 7.30am, but two hours later, he was believed to have choked on the fish ball the size of an adult's thumb.He was immediately rushed to the hospital some 50 metres away but was pronounced dead on arrival.The baby's father, Wan Arif Fadhla Wan Yusof, 41, said he received a call from his wife, Nur Azita Ibrahim, 31, at about 11.15am, informing him of the incident."My wife is a school teacher and she called me from the school, saying that our son had been admitted to the hospital."When I arrived at the hospital, I was told that my son had died. He had choked on a fish ball and was unable to breathe," said Wan Arif Fadhla, a civil servant.

He said he was very disappointed that the nursery staff had not cut fish ball into small pieces before feeding it to Wan Nur Alif. Wan Arif Fadhla said he had lodged a report at the Tampin police station.Wan Nur Alif will be buried at the Muslim cemetery in Kampung Pulau Kerengga in Marang, Terangganu.Tampin police chief Superintendent Wooi Hooi Cheng said the nursery staff would be questioned pertaining to the incident.When contacted, an officer of a district Welfare Department said a probe would be conducted.The officer also said the nursery had been in operation for many years.

News article taken from NST

This is a totally devastating news of what a nursery could do to a child. That is why it is extremely important to know inside out of the place we sent our children to whether it is a daycare, a nursery, a kindergarten, etc. We must do all the necessary checkings to ensure the safety of our children. Do they have the basic knowledge of childcare and education? Do they have the basic knowledge of health & safety for these little ones? Does the centre provide a safe environment for these little ones? Well, for this case, I don't know what the caretaker is thinking, but giving a fish ball? to a 9-month old baby? My goodness! I think this caretaker is really insane!