snoozy

SHE was the last person who saw little Eve Tan before the baby choked to death in her sleep.

And she's been blaming herself for the infant's death since.

But Eve's parents insist that she's not to blame.

Ms Nurhayati Suwarno, 28, an Indonesian maid who has been looking after Eve since she was born, was so distraught that she has fainted three times.
Click to see larger image
# Mrs and Mr Tan with son Adam looking at Ms Nurhayati.--Picture: GAVIN FOO

Yesterday, at Eve's funeral, she was inconsolable and fainted yet again.

The 7-month-old girl had choked to death in her Johor Baru (JB) home after she had been fed milk in the wee hours of Thursday. (See report on facing page.)

A post mortem found that she had died from 'asphyxia due to choking on milk'.

But Eve's father, Mr Tan Kwang Hwee, 38, a circulation assistant, said of his maid: 'It was an accident - even if it was carelessness on her part, we don't blame her at all.'

Ms Nurhayati discovered Eve at about 8.30am, lying cold and lifeless on the bed.

Distraught, she called Eve's father, who was then in Singapore.

Mr Tan, a Singaporean, and his Malaysian wife regularly shuttle between JB and Singapore for work.

But Eve and her 3-year-old brother, Adam, live in JB, under the care of Ms Nurhayati.

The day Eve died, Mr Tan and his wife did not return to JB because they had worked late the night before.

They have another home in Singapore.

Said Mr Tan: 'When the maid called, she was in a state of shock and kept shouting. I didn't understand what she was saying.

'I called her back and she said that Eve had stopped breathing. I told her to get the neighbours' help and get them to rush Eve to a nearby clinic.'

But at the clinic, the doctor told Ms Nurhayati that Eve had already stopped breathing, and told her to rush the baby to the hospital.

She was so distraught that she fainted at the hospital.

Mr Tan said she has yet to recover from the blow of Eve's death.

He said the day Eve died, Ms Nurhayati was hysterical and fainted twice more at home.

CARING

'We could tell that Yati really cares for our children,' said Mr Tan, who also has a 12-year-old daughter who lives in Kuala Selangor.

He added that Ms Nurhayati had always been meticulous in taking care of his children, ever since she started working for them three years ago.

She herself has a 5-year-old son in Indonesia.

Whenever Eve was ill, she would set an alarm to wake up every two hours so that she could check the temperature and feed her medicine, Mr Tan said.

'Now, when she's not working she'll just stare out of the window and say she can't accept that Eve's gone,' he added.

Mr Tan said that because of their work commitments, he and his wife had no choice but to leave their younger children in the maid's care while they were in Singapore.

In the beginning, he got his neighbours and the condominium's security guards to check on her.

But she did not give the family any reason to worry, because she seldom left the house.

'She was very fond of both the younger kids,' Mr Tan said.

Eventually, her care and concern for the children won the family's trust. 'She's like part of our family,' Mr Tan said.

He added that the family would take Ms Nurhayati out with them for dinners during the weekends.

Mr Tan said the Malaysian police interviewed him and his wife.

But he believes they have since closed the case or they wouldn't have been allowed to bring the body to Singapore.

In spite of the accident, Mr Tan said he has no plans to send Ms Nurhayati back to Indonesia.

He said that the family would decide what to do when her contract expires next February.

But he insisted that the family would keep her if they can.

'Everyone can see that she's a good worker,' he said.

But he said that because she hasn't been coping well after Eve's death, he has roped in his mother, a retiree, to help care for his son and also to make sure Ms Nurhayati is fine.

Mr Tan said: 'Even my mum consoled her - she told her not to skip her meals. My mother told her that she still has one more 'son' to take care of - my son.'

But Ms Nurhayati's thoughts are still on Eve, whose ashes will be kept in a niche at the Mandai Columbarium.

TEARY

When The New Paper spoke with her yesterday, she was dazed and often teary-eyed as she recounted the incident.

Still, she quietly attended to Adam, who was oblivious to all that has happened.

She said of Eve: 'Meimei liked to laugh. On Wednesday, I noticed that her first tooth was showing. I told her she's a big girl already, and she laughed.'
I was scared and crying

MS NURHAYATI Suwarno fed Eve and her 3-year-old brother, Adam, as usual at about 4.45am on Thursday.

After making sure they were asleep, she returned to her room to rest.

When Adam came out of the room at about 8.30am, Ms Nurhayati was surprised that Eve, who normally stirred at 7am, was still quiet.

So she went to check on Eve and found her lying lifeless on her bed.

She said: 'I opened the door and saw Meimei's head tilted backwards. Her eyes were wide open and she was cold. I knew something was wrong.

'I screamed at Meimei to wake up and I shook her. But she didn't move. I was scared and crying.'

While waiting for her employer to make his way to Johor Baru from Singapore, Ms Nurhayati ran to get help from a neighbour.

The neighbour drove them to a clinic nearby.

But at the clinic, the doctor told Ms Nurhayati that Eve had already stopped breathing, and told her to rush the baby to the hospital.

The baby was pronounced dead there.

Ms Nurhayati said she sometimes slept in a different room from the children because of the air-conditioner.

She said: 'Had I slept in the room with them, maybe it wouldn't have happened.'