A child falls into her death while the mother was busy texting: Sparks outrage among netizens

This is the original video footage of the said incident.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – A CCTV footage, showing a mother fiddling with her phone few seconds before her six-year-old girl fell to her death, made it online and sparked outrage among Malaysians on different social media sites.

Nurhayada Sofia Musa could be seen in the minute-long video footage playing near the escalator on the second floor of Kenanga Wholesale City Mall,while her sister and her mo­­ther stand nearby. The video clip shows the mother, who had earlier been talking on the phone, seemingly texting someone. A few seconds later, the girl was seen climbing over the banis­ter, where she fell through the gap between the balustrade and the escalator.

Nurhayada’s mother, who was until then still busy with her phone, immediately ran down the escalator, while her other daughter trails after her.

Quoting City CID chief Senior Assistant Commissioner Zainuddin Ahmad, Malaysia Shafaqna reported that the po­­lice have already started investigating the in­cident, which happened at about 3 o’clock in the afternoon of April 3.

Ahmad also added that the possibility of negligence by Nur­hayada’s mother is also being considered in the investigation.

“We hope the public refrains from speculating on the matter,” he said.

A source with good knowledge of the on-going investigation confirmed that police had already questioned the victim’s parents.

The statements gathered were taken in order to facilitate investigations into the case, which was classified as “sudden death” with no elements of foul play.

“If we receive instructions to reclassify the case as negligence under the Child Act, we will do that,” said the source, as reported by Inquirer.

Meanwhile, the Malaysia Shopping Malls Association, through their adviser H.C. Chan, had called for greater safety precautions, explaining that gaps should not exist between panels and escalators.

“There should be a barrier to prevent anyone from entering the space,” he explained, but at the same time pointing out that parents who bring children to public places must also keep an eye on them.

A spokesman of the mall has declined to comment on the issue; at least until police investigations were completed.

Association of Registered Child­care Providers Malaysia president P.H. Wong called on different shopping malls to have child protection policies at their buildings, as to decrease the risk of having accidents.

“It is also ultimately the duty of parents to look after their young children. The parents cannot assume that the kids can take care of themselves,” she said.

Source: Kickerdaily