Do not leave child alone - expert

A law lecturer at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Prof Datin Noor Aziah Mohd Awal, said children who were left on their own had the tendency to engage in dangerous activities that could be fatal.

She said children should be protected and not left on their own, even when at home.

"Parents should have the parental instinct by questioning whether they are capable of protecting their children," she said when contacted by Bernama.

The lecturer, who is also a a member of the Malaysian Child Protection Coordinating Committee, said many cases involving child's death, as reported by the media of late, were due to the negligence of adults, like their maids, guardians or even parents.

"No child should die because of their parents' own actions and no parents want to be saddened or made to suffer for causing the death of their own child," she added.

This year, five cases of child's death due to negligence on the part of parents were reported, including that of three-year-old Muhammad Ariff Mohd Yusof who died when left in his father's multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) for almost nine hours in Indera Mahkota, Kuantan, last January.

Another case involved a four-year-old boy who died after falling from the 10th floor of a flats at the Lembah Jaya Industrial Park when left alone at home by his mother, who went to send another child to school.

The latest case happened last Wednesday where a six-year-old girl, Arisa Nabilah Awang Azizan, died after falling from the sixth floor of a flat at Kem Batu 10, Kuantan.

Investigations revealed that she was also left alone at home by her father.

Noor Aziah said in Malaysia, children were given special protection under the Child Act 2001, which provided punishment for anyone (including parents) who neglected or victimise their children or cause death or harm to a child, or expose the child to danger.

"This means parents or guardians who are negligent in child care can be charged in the court and if found guilty, they could be fined up to RM20,000 or jailed up to 10 years or both," she added.

She said the society should not sympathise with parents who neglected their children because the punishment that was meted was meant to teach them a lesson.

Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Rohani Abdul Karim recently proposed for amendments to the Child act 2001 to provide for a heavier sentence on parents who neglected the responsibility of looking and caring for their children.

The proposal has been submitted to the Attorney-General to be fine-tuned before its tabling in Parliament.