A young couple in their 30s received a shock yesterday when their domestic helper accidentally left their 3-month-old infant in a locked car for 20 minutes, yesterday around 11.50am at the carpark near Holland Village Market and Food Centre.
According to the Chinese daily, the parents left their child in the care of the helper as they went to test drive a new car. The helper reportedly put the child in the back seat and left the car keys in a pouch on the front seat of the vehicle.
The helper was reportedly outside the vehicle folding the baby stroller and had the front passenger door of the white BMW sedan open. Unfortunately, an accidental knock against the door, caused the door to shut and the car to auto-lock all the doors.
A stall holder at the Market nearby, Ms Huang, told reporters that she heard a woman crying for help at the carpark, crying that her child was trapped in the car.
Her husband was also seen frantically seeking help, until he found a hammer which he used to break one of the rear windows of the car and safely extricate his baby.
The Singapore Civil Defense Force, which arrived at the scene, after about 10 minutes, confirmed that the infant did not suffer any injuries from the episode.
Leaving a child in a vehicle for prolonged periods of time could potentially be fatal for children. Just last Wednesday (14 Mar), a two-year-old Malaysian girl died after she was left in her mother’s car for four hours. The child’s mother left her in the car park of the college where she works as a lecturer and the toddler is believed to have died of heatstroke, according to the police.