Nanny allegedly poisons 2 babies, with 1 hospitalised

A babysitter is on trial for allegedly poisoning two babies with various drugs, including those used for anxiety disorders, insomnia, and allergies.

Sa'adiah Jamari, 38, faces two counts of administering poison to a five-month-old girl and an 11-month-old girl in 2016. They are not related.

Sa'adiah allegedly gave the younger victim drugs such as alprazolam, commonly used for anxiety disorders, and zolpidem, used for sleeping problems, over November and December 2016.

The older victim was allegedly fed drugs like chlorphenamine, an antihistamine.

Yesterday, at the start of the trial, the court heard that Sa'adiah, a registered nurse, was working freelance and had advertised her babysitting services online.

The mother of the five-month-old testified yesterday that Sa'adiah contacted her after she posted on Facebook about urgently needing a babysitter for her baby and five-year-old girl.

The mother, 29, who cannot be named to protect the victim's identity, said Sa'adiah started taking care of her daughters in November 2016.

She provided milk, clothes, and diapers and dropped her daughters off in the morning and picked them up in the evening.

She noticed a pattern of her younger daughter being sleepy and unable to focus when going home. She told District Judge John Ng: "Her eyes would be a bit swollen... her eyelids drooping down."

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The baby also threw her milk bottle aside while being fed.

After a few sessions at Sa'adiah's home, the mother took her baby to KK Women's and Children's Hospital, where a blood test showed nothing wrong.

INSTINCTS

Visibly emotional, she testified: "I was upset... It was my instincts against a medical examination... My observations and gut instincts were not being acknowledged."

Still, she continued leaving her daughters with Sa'adiah as she had no evidence her baby was being harmed and she had no one else to care for them.

On Dec 9, 2016, she picked the baby up in the evening and again noticed she was drowsy, with swollen eyelids that could barely open.

The baby was taken to Parkway East Hospital, where she said her child could not hold her head upright.

She had to be spoon-fed milk as she did not have the energy to suck on a milk bottle.

She was warded for several days, and the mother stopped using Sa'adiah's services.

After receiving a toxicology report, the mother made a police report.

She later saw a Facebook post by another woman who claimed to have had a similar experience.

Her baby, who is now four, and well, is in childcare, she added.

The trial continues today.

This article was first published in The New Paper. Permission required for reproduction.