Mum: Kids who ate snacks laced with poison still unconscious, younger brother in coma
KUALA LUMPUR, July 9 – Nurain Hasnorizal, the mother of the two brothers currently in critical condition after eating snacks believed to be poisoned to trap monkeys, said both of them were still unconscious.
Speaking to Malay tabloid Harian Metro yesterday, Nurain, 25, said that doctors were not hopeful of her eldest son’s recovery while the younger one was in coma.
“His blood pressure is also low, and if they proceed with treatment, his kidney condition could worsen,” she was quoted saying about the eldest son when met at the Penang Hospital.
“He underwent a CT scan today and is still in a coma,” the factory worker added, referring to the younger son.
Yesterday, the police said that Muhammad Akil Syauqi, aged three, and Muhammad Luth Syauqi Abdul Rahman, two, were in critical condition after they ate snacks believed to be laced with rat poison in Kampung Padang Ubi in Kulim.
Nurain recounted that during the incident, she noticed her children entering the house, and shortly after the two went into a seizure.
“I saw a plastic snack packet and was sure they had eaten the crackers mixed with rat poison that the nearby residents often use to trap monkeys,” she related to the paper.
In a separate report, the brothers’ grandmother, Saadiah Yaacob, 62, reportedly said she was upset with the owner of the orchard since the snack was hung on a low wire fence, easily reachable by her grandson.
Recounting the incident to Harian Metro, Saadiah said that initially, the two siblings followed their grandfather, Muhammad Nazar Abdullah, 53, to look for cows in an orchard not far from their house.
She said that shortly after, the two siblings returned home happily carrying two packets of snacks tied with string.
“I didn't see them eat the snacks because they immediately went into their mother's room, who was sleeping after returning from a night shift, and I then went out to a nearby rubber plantation.
“Not long after, I saw an ambulance entering the house area and a neighbour informed me that my two grandchildren had already been taken to the clinic,” she was quoted saying.
Saadiah said that she immediately returned home and remembered the snacks her grandchildren had brought, which were taken from the orchard fence about 50 meters from their house.
“I saw the two snack packets were already opened in the middle, with only three pieces of snacks left, and I suspected they had eaten the crackers,” she said.
Meanwhile, their grandfather, Muhammad Nazar, reportedly said that during the incident, he had told the two brothers to return home and did not expect them to take the snack packets along.
He said that the poison in the snacks might not be rat poison but a stronger poison.
The police had said that the suspect in the case was believed to be the victims’ neighbour who works as a gardener.
The case is being investigated under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001 for abuse, neglect, abandonment or exposing child to harm, and Section 284 of the Penal Code (negligent conduct with respect to any poisonous substance).
