IPOH: The family of a two-year-old boy who was strangled by a curtain cord has described his death as a huge test for the victim’s stepmother.
In the 2.15pm incident, Muhammad Irfan Nuqman Mohd Aqil was found unconscious after he was found tangled in a curtain cord at the entrance of the house by his 30-year-old stepmother.
A family member who declined to be identified said the victim's stepmother loved the child as her own following the death of the child’s mother due to breast cancer.
"She (the stepmother) was a good mother, she took care and loved the boy more than any mother would have.
“Losing him is a test from God,” he said when met at the victim's home here yesterday.
The relative declined to further elobrate on the incident.
Meanwhile, Ipoh Police Chief, Assistant Commissioner Mohd Ali Tamby said only the victim and his stepmother were at home at the time of the incident.
The victim’s five-year-old sister was in a nursery near their home, while his 33-year-old father was away at work in Bangi, Selangor.
Ali said before the incident, the stepmother had fed the child and then left him to him alone to play by himself, while she was busy cooking in the kitchen.
However, some 15 minutes later when she realised that it was far too quiet, she went out to check on the boy.
She was shocked to find the victim tangled in the curtain cord and immediately grabbed him and unwrapped the cord but he was already unconscious.
She immediately contacted her husband and a sister who was living nearby.
"The victim's mother called the emergency line and was guided by hospital personnelon how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) through the phone while waiting for ambulance to arrive.
"At that time, the victim responded positively as the mother felt a pulse and he vomited milk,” he said.
However, the victim was confirmed dead while receiving treatment at the Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital (HRPB) here at 3pm.
"It's uncertain how the victim got tangled with the curtain cord but we believe that he climbed a ladder to play with the curtain before he got tangled up with the cord.
He said a post-mortem showed signs of strangulation marks on the neck and the case had been classified as a sudden death.
Ali said the boy's remains were buried at the Meru Raya Islamic Cemetery last night.