M'sian cops investigate mum of girl, 6, who fell to her death at shopping mall
It was a petty argument between husband and wife.
But it ended up costing them dearly – and claimed the life of their six-year-old daughter, who had wandered away and plunged to her death at a Kuala Lumpur shopping mall.
Now, the mother is under investigation for negligence.
The husband, who identified himself as Musa, had returned to his Kuala Lumpur apartment on Friday (April 3) afternoon to find his wife and two daughters missing.
He called his wife on her mobile phone to ask where she was, Malaysian newspaper The Star reported.
He said:
“She had taken the children out shopping with a friend.
"I asked her why she hadn’t told me about it, and asked where she was so I could pick her up. But she said she would take a bus back."
As they spoke, Nurhayada Sofia wandered near an escalator on the second floor of the Kenanga Wholesale City mall in Pudu.
Her younger sister, five, remained with their mother.
Nurhayada was said to have tried to climb over the escalator when she slipped and fell five floors to the basement.
Musa recalled at the Hospital Kuala Lumpur mortuary:
“We were still arguing when I heard a commotion and the line was cut.
“Minutes later, my wife called back to say that Nurhayada was dead. I just couldn’t believe it.”
Nurhayada died of severe injuries to the head.
CCTV footage showed mum fiddling with phone
Malaysians were outraged that the mother was fiddling with her phone shortly before the girl fell to her death.
In the minute-long CCTV footage, Nurhayada could be seen playing near the escalator on the second floor of Kenanga Wholesale City Mall with her sister and her mother nearby.
While the mother spoke on her phone and seemed to start texting, the girl was later seen climbing over the banister.
She then fell through the gap between the balustrade and the escalator.
Nurhayada’s mother, who was until then still fiddling with her phone, ran down the escalator with her other daughter trailing after her.
Mum was negligent?
KL CID chief Senior Asst Comm Zainuddin Ahmad said the police were investigating the case.
They're also looking at the possibility of negligence by Nurhayada’s mother.
He said: “We hope the public refrains from speculating on the matter.”
A mall spokesman declined comment until the police investigation is completed.
Nurhayada is expected to be buried in her father’s hometown in Muar.
Source: Star Online
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