A group of NGOs disputing the report have sent a memorandum to Suhakam asking it to view the hospital CCTV footage to determine the truth.

Organisasi Penggerak Sosial dan Minda Nambikkai national president Kalai Vanar said the report that the child had been dead on arrival at the hospital was implausible for several reasons.

He said the first was the hospital’s claim that the child had been dead an hour before arrival did not cohere with the account that the child had been seen by a doctor at a private clinic in Kapar about 20 minutes before she was rushed to the hospital.

“If the child was dead when she was brought to the clinic, then why did the doctor at the clinic ask the family to rush the child to the hospital to be warded and why was a blood test run while she was at the clinic?”

The second reason was that the doctors at the hospital had given the child a nebulizer to help her breathe.

“If the child is dying or if there’s suspicion that the child is already dead, then the normal medical procedure is to conduct CPR,” he said referring to cardiopulmonary respiration.

Another reason the report did not make sense, Kalai said, was that the hospital medical staff had taken blood from the child’s leg for a blood test .

“Do you try to take blood from someone who is already dead?”

Kalai, along with representatives of Persatuan Perpaduan Sejahtera Kebangsaan and Dewan Perniagaan Perindustrian India Selangor, wants Suhakam to view the CCTV footage to determine whether the child was indeed dead when she arrived at the hospital.

“The former director of the hospital has told me that there are nine CCTV cameras at the hospital. We would like Suhakam to view the footage, if possible, in the presence of the child’s mother and myself.”

The child’s father is currently in detention under the Prevention of Crimes Act.

“We also urge Suhakam to try to get the child’s father released with conditions as he is the main provider for the family.”