Pengasuh, pengusaha taska diarah bayar ganti rugi RM65,000 berkait kes Baby Syifaa

Mahkamah Tinggi Seremban has ruled that a caretaker and the owner of a child care center, Khairunnisa Ahmad Damanhuri and her sister Nadzirah, must pay RM65,000 in compensation to the family of a baby girl, known as Baby Syifaa, who died while in their care. The court found that the caretaker, Khairunnisa, and her sister, Nadzirah, who managed My Mom Child Care Centre in Bandar Seri Sendayan, were responsible for the baby's death.

The baby, whose real name was Nour Rania Asyifaa Yuseri, died on February 22, 2022, while under their care when she was one year old. Nour Rania's mother, Anida Idrus, filed a lawsuit against Khairunnisa and Nadzirah in 2025, accusing them of negligence for placing Nour Rania in a wet cloth and leaving her unattended. During the trial, it was revealed that Khairunnisa left Nour Rania unattended while performing her prayers and having lunch.

Judge Roz Mawar Rozain allowed Anida's claim against the caretaker and the owner of the child care center, determining that the mother succeeded in proving her case based on the probability. The judge concluded that Khairunnisa failed to provide the standard level of care expected from a caregiver or a caregiver, as required. "A reasonable caregiver would ensure that another caregiver takes over the responsibility for a while or conduct a visual inspection frequently.

Neither of these attentive measures was taken. The effort to perform either of these actions is not costly, but the possibility of the baby getting trapped in the wet cloth could result in serious consequences," said Roz Mawar. As for Nadzirah, the court decided that she did not check on Nour Rania throughout the period Khairunnisa was absent and did not request anyone else to do so.

"A child care center must be managed with a system that allows the caretaker to fulfill personal needs without leaving the baby unattended. The absence of someone who could take over the tasks for a while indicates a weakness in management, not an unavoidable circumstance," said Roz Mawar. Earlier this year, in separate proceedings, Khairunnisa was sentenced to one year in prison and fined RM15,000 for her negligence leading to Nour Rania's death.