3 year old dies drinking dish soap while Thai nanny played games on her mobile phone

[webfact]

3 Year Old Girl Dies 'From Drinking Dish Soap'

By Khaosod Online


Ms. Chanakarn Chusri-orn

BANGKOK: -- A 3 year old girl in Surat Thani province has died from drinking dishwashing detergent when her nanny was playing games on her mobile phone, police said.

The girl, identified by her family as nong Focus, was left at home on 14 December with the 33 year old babysitter, Ms. Chanakarn Chusri-orn, when her parents were away working at a nearby bakery, according to the police.

Ms. Chanakarn, who is a neighbour of Focus′ parents, said she had been babysitting for the girl for 6 months. On the day of the incident, Ms. Chanakarn said, she left Focus to play with her daughter, who was reportedly in the same age with Focus, in the bathroom while she went out and play games on her mobile phone outside the house.

However, Ms. Chanakarn said, she had earlier mixed dishwashing chemical with water and left it in the bathroom for use in refrigerator cleaning later.

The babysitter said nong Focus later ran to her, pointed to her own mouth, and spilled out some chemical, which made Ms. Chanakarn realise that the girl had drank the chemical she left in the bathroom. Ms. Chanakarn told police she tried to make Focus vomit out the chemical and drink a lot of water, to no avail.

Ms. Chanakarn said "an hour and a half" after Focus drank the chemical, the girl′s condition worsened, so she picked up the girl to her parents, who sent her to a local clinic. The clinic later transported Focus to Samui Hospital, where she eventually died.

The body of the girl will undergo autopsy inspection at Surat Thani Hospital to establish clear cause of death, police said, adding that they have also confiscated the dishwashing chemical Ms. Chanakarn claimed the girl had swallowed for further investigation.

Ms. Chanakarn has not been charged, police said, as they are still waiting for result of the girl′s autopsy report. However, a senior police officer suggested that Ms. Chanakarn could be charged with gross negligence leading to death.

Speaking to our correspondent, Ms. Chanakarn said she sincerely regrets her actions. As a gesture of her apology, Ms. Chanakarn said, she would become a nun to make merits on behalf of the dead girl after her funeral is concluded.

Focus′ parents said they would not comment about legal issues concerning Focus′ death, stating that they would let the legal procedure take its course.

But they said they would like to encourage other parents to take lesson from their loss, especially when it comes to choosing babysitters. Parents should consider how competent the babysitters can mind their children before they decide to hire the individuals, they added.

Source: http://www.khaosod.co.th/en/view_newsonline.php?newsid=TVRNNE56UTBORGMzT0E9PQ==


-- Khaosod English 2013-12-19

[sonar6ca]

Sad story, R.I.P little one.

[lee b]

How can anybody leave a 3 year old unattended? Children need to be watched all the time. Was that not her job ? She could of played candy crush on her phone while sat next to the poor girl. RIP to her

[Sydebolle]

Well, we look after our grandson with similar age and trust me, there is never a dull moment. Always something to do and if you're busy in the kitchen then park him up for a sejour of old Donald Duck cartoons. Everything else is irresponsible :-(

[hanno]

RIP. Wonder what sort of detergent that was.....

[Yunla]

RIP.

It sounds like around three hours passed between the girl telling the sitter about the problem, and the girl being seen by a real hospital. Those three hours could have made a big difference.

Tragic story, careless woman for making the mistake in the first place, and then not rushing to a hospital immediately.

[andygunther]

RIP. Wonder what sort of detergent that was.....

All types of detergent are highly toxic.

R.I.P. poor girl

[soi41]

Sometimes a picture says more than a thousend words!!

Okay, accidents do happen. But after realising that the toddler had drunk the dishsoap, she waited almost 2 hours before trying to get qualified medical help. Pure Darwin!!

[DocN]

What a sad story - RIP little girl>

No w having said that (and I almost dont believe I say that) <deleted> like that happens...and then someone goes to prison for neglect!

...and doesnt appoplogize and becomes a nun, to do merrit or whatever the F....

[TomTao]

How very sad for the parents, this woman had been babysitting for them for six months, so they obyiously trusted her, she repays that trust be being totally irresponsible, not only with her employers daughter but with her own as well. Who in thier right mind leaves two three year olds alone, let alone in the bathroom with a bottle of cleaning fluid? RIP the poor little girl, this woman is fortunate her daughter didn't take a drink as well, she may have gone to seek medical help much sooner then.

[seminomadic]

She obviously has no interest in kids: she's going to make merit for her neglect by neglecting her own daughter for however long she stays a nun.

[missy1827]

Sad story.

R.I.P. little girl

[Patje]

They should call it "dumb" phone, I see no one getting smarter

Rip for the little one and her family

[kriswillems]

As I kid a ever drunk a small amount of dish washing liquid and me parents ask a specialized doctor for advise (I think I was about 6). He told my parents it is not dangerous and nothing happened to me, except that there were bubbles coming out of my mouth when I tried to breath (which was a very annoying experience). I also wonder what kind of product it was.

[kriswillems]

I looked on a specialized website and the advice given is to do nothing or eat fat food. If you drink water, you'll get more bubbles and you might throw up. When throwing up the bubbles enter in your respiratory tract and you've a chance to suffocate.

If she would have nothing instead of give water (and make the baby throw up), the baby might still be alive.

[Asiantravel]

RIP. Wonder what sort of detergent that was.....

If it was dishwashing detergent for a dishwashing machine (although it doesn't say specifically) it would be highly caustic

[saakura]

How can anybody leave a 3 year old unattended? Children need to be watched all the time. Was that not her job ? She could of played candy crush on her phone while sat next to the poor girl. RIP to her

I am a parent of a small child and it is impossible to keep an eye on a child for every single minute. Sometimes he is splashing water in the shower or playing imaginary games in the other room while we are going about doing our routines while frequently looking up on him. This incident is sad, very very sad but shi*t happens. The lesson to learn is to keep all toxic substances well out of reach.

Edited December 19, 2013 by saakura

[surangw]

children are faster than adults attention spans.

[Johnnie99]

"We love our children."

[Johnnie99]

How can anybody leave a 3 year old unattended? Children need to be watched all the time. Was that not her job ? She could of played candy crush on her phone while sat next to the poor girl. RIP to her

I am a parent of a small child and it is impossible to keep an eye on a child for every single minute. Sometimes he is splashing water in the shower or playing imaginary games in the other room while we are going about doing our routines while frequently looking up on him. This incident is sad, very very sad but shi*t happens. The lesson to learn is to keep all toxic substances well out of reach.

We may be going about our routines, but does that include the 'routine' of playing games on a phone?

Are not there two lessons - one being to pay attention, and the other as you say, keep harmful substances out of the reach of children. Or read the label.

[Estrada]

RIP. Wonder what sort of detergent that was.....

All types of detergent are highly toxic.

R.I.P. poor girl

No they are not toxic. I used to manufacture liquid detergents and often digested some when priming detergent delivery lines for all types of washing systems including car washes. I do not believe this story. It is extremely unlikely that anyone, let alone a 3 year old would drink more than a sip

of liquid detergent due to it's taste.

When I was young, many mothers would even wash their children's mouths out with copious amounts of soap if they were caught swearing, without side effects!

Most of the soaps and dishwashing fluids you have in the home, including hand soap, are all basically the same.

The police should be looking for something other than liquid dishwashing fluid. Industrial cleaning fluids that are toxic include oxalic acid and hydrofluoric acid.

[cbluck58]

Smart phones for dumb people......poor little girl , RIP.

[JoeThePoster]

nanny played games on her mobile phone

I bet she gives up her seat to little kids on the BTS or the bus though.

[Credo]

This happened in Surat Thani. I don't think they have a BTS there.

[Scott]

Off-topic posts and replies deleted.

[belg]

i tought the dishwater was already dilluted when sold here in thailand

or was it some toilet cleaner?

Edited December 20, 2013 by belg

[Costas2008]

Yes, tragic story...so sorry for the little girl.

But unfortunately this is happening too often in Thailand when parents have to trust their children to grandparents / relatives.

There is no much sense of responsibility between Thai people and specially in the Issan rural areas.

Hope that will change soon but I am not very optimistic.

[canuckamuck]

What kind of soap needs to be in the fridge? I suppose she put it in a drinking cup too!

Because she had to premix it, I assume it was more than just dish soap.

[juggernaut]

Sometimes a picture says more than a thousend words!!

Okay, accidents do happen. But after realising that the toddler had drunk the dishsoap, she waited almost 2 hours before trying to get qualified medical help. Pure Darwin!!

What the hell has this story got to do with Darwin? You make the same comment seemingly daily on various bits of news. Are you referring to the Darwin Awards? If so, check out http://www.darwinawards.com/rules/ and maybe you will understand what it's all about and stop making incorrect references to Darwin in the future. Thanks.

[amse]

So the nanny was more interested in not looseing face, than saving a childs life.