Baby dies, drunk parents forgot to feed him

Friday March 27, 2009, By STEPHEN THEN, Thestar

MIRI: A baby boy, less than a month old, starved to death after his parents allegedly forgot to feed him because they were too drunk.

The baby died in the intensive-care unit of Miri Hospital yesterday morning and a police report has been lodged.

Police now want to question the parents, in their early 30s from a longhouse in southern Sarawak, who came to Miri to work and were renting a house at a low-cost housing scheme near the Sarawak-Brunei High­way, some 12km north of the city centre.

Relatives found the baby unconscious in the house and rushed him to the hospital at about 3am on Wednesday.

Miri deputy OCPD Supt Ismail Paduka Idris confirmed that the baby died in the morning.
“We are investigating claims that the parents had indulged in a prolonged drinking spree and had neglected the baby.
“Initial investigations show that the baby might have been so severely neglected that he suffered fatal consequences.
“We want to find out whether this was due to carelessness,” Supt Ismail said.
The couple also have a three-year-old daughter.