A 32-year-old Indonesian maid was sentenced to 6 months imprisonment on 2 November after pleading guilty to one count of causing hurt by means of a stupefying substance.
She had laced a baby’s (whom she was caring for) milk bottle with Anarex, a medicine for flu, fever and pain that is known to cause drowsiness.
She wanted to make him sleep longer so that she could rest.
What happened?
The incident happened on 5 December 2020, at about 8.30pm.
The maid, who had been working for the family for about 14 months, felt tired looing after the baby.
She was instructed to feed the 13-month-old baby with milk, to which she then went into the kitchen to get the milk bottle already containing about 100ml of milk.
She then went into her room to retrieve an Anarex tablet and put it inside the milk bottle, feeding it to the baby.
The baby consumed about 90ml of the contents before falling asleep after 20 minutes.
She then put the baby back into his crib and went into the kitchen to wash the bottle.
The cousin of the baby saw some blue and white stuff inside the bottle and told the baby’s mother about it.
The mother then went to take a look and saw the tablet at the bottom of the bottle, she then confronted the maid, who lied that she didn’t know as she was afraid.
The mother then tasted the pill and confronted the maid again, who then admitted to her actions and apologised.
The mother then informed the police and the baby was checked at a hospital the following day.
His vital signs appeared to be stable.
Wanted to rest
The maid said that she wanted the baby to sleep so that she could rest.
She also added that she knew what she did was wrong, and she asked for forgiveness as well as a lighter sentence.
She highlighted that her father is dying in Indonesia, her husband left her and her mother was infected with Covid and is in critical condition.
She added that she is the sole breadwinner and it has been hard for her ever since her remand.
Images source: Unsplash and Carousell (Images used for illustration purposes only)