For new mothers, hiring a confinement nanny can help ensure that newborns receive appropriate care.
However, that was not the case for this Singaporean couple, who were in for a rude shock after reviewing the security camera footage in their baby's room.
The baby's mother, told Shin Min Daily News that she hired the nanny based on a friend's recommendation.
"This is our first child, we have no parenting experience, so we hired the nanny," said the 29-year-old secretary.
She added that the nanny slept in the same room as their baby and maid.
The arrangement seemed to work well for the family until last Monday (Jan 17), when the 29-year-old was reviewing the room's security camera footage — which showed the nanny violently slapping her daughter's back.
Incensed, she informed her husband. After some discussion, the couple decided to give the nanny another chance.
Over the past week, the couple discovered more instances of the nanny mistreating their daughter, which included falling asleep while feeding her.
The video footage also showed the nanny dozing off after putting the baby to sleep. The baby was seen slipping out of the nanny's arms, landing on a mattress.
In a separate incident, the nanny also pulled the infant by her leg.
Unable to withstand the nanny's mistreatment of their child any longer, the baby's father called the police last Saturday.
Officers came down to take the nanny's statement. Subsequently, the latter also packed up her belongings and left.
"Before she left, she insisted that she wasn't in the wrong, and we were maligning her. She only admitted that she could be a little rough at times," the baby's mother said.
Reporters from the Chinese daily also spoke to the nanny on Tuesday. The 63-year-old woman, who has 19 years of experience as a confinement nanny, reiterated that she meant no harm to the infant.
"I pat the baby on her back with my hand after feeding her, so that she wouldn't choke."
Explaining the leg-pulling, she said that the baby was lying on the mattress, and she wanted to move the child closer to herself.
She also admitted to falling asleep while taking care of the child, but insisted that she woke up shortly after.
In July last year, a babysitter in Hong Kong was jailed for six weeks after tossing an eight-month-old baby to the ground for refusing a bottle of milk.
She was arrested after the baby's father found security camera footage of the babysitter's act.
claudiatan@asiaone.com
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