If you see a child who has been left unattended in a car, call 999 to alert the emergency services, even if you are making a nuisance of yourself. It is better to be safe than sorry as you could save a life.

Last week, a mother forgot that her child was in the car with her. Hasmah Masroh parked her vehicle at the Port Dickson Vocational College where she worked as a lecturer. Four hours later, she suddenly realised that her daughter was still in the car.

By the time she reached her vehicle, her daughter was unconscious. She drove to the Port Dickson health clinic, but the medical staff were unable to revive the child.

Hasmah is going through a difficult time now and probably wishes that she could turn back time. However, her daughter is not the first child to die after being left in a locked car.

In April 2017, six-year-old Muhammad Iqram Danish fell asleep in the back seat as he was being driven to his kindergarten from his home in Gombak. Three hours later, he was found unconscious. He eventually died from suffocation and heatstroke.

The driver did not notice that the child was asleep in the van. The kindergarten teacher did not query the boy’s absence. What are the procedures for taking note of a child’s attendance at school? It is so easy to tick off a name from a register.

A car with closed windows and locked doors, left in a car park with no one around, is like a killing machine. In hot weather, it is like an oven. In fact, temperatures can be uncomfortable even on balmy days.

In 2015, a toddler in Saleng died from heatstroke after being left in the back seat of her father’s car for about five hours. Her father was only alerted when the babysitter rang him up to ask after the child’s whereabouts.

In 2013, a mother went to work in Subang Jaya and forgot that she had left her three-year-old daughter in the car. The girl was left in the car for five hours, from 11am to 4pm.

In June 2012, a four-year-old was left in a car for six hours at a school in Tampoi. He did not survive.

Sometimes parents leave their children in the car when they go shopping. They nip into the shops and forget when they become distracted or engaged in conversation with a friend, or are delayed by a long queue.

The best lesson for parents is to take preventive steps and realise that it is not okay to leave their children in the car, not even for one minute.

Look before you lock.

Mariam Mokhtar is an FMT columnist.

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.