Monkey Kidnaps, Kills Baby

A baby in Malaysia has died after being snatched from home by a monkey which bit then  dropped her from the roof.

The four-day-old girl was sleeping in the living room of her home in the central  Malaysian state of Negri Sembilan when a macaque monkey entered.

The baby had been briefly left alone. Wildlife officials said the monkey was probably in  search of food.

Wildlife officials said it was the first case of an attack by wild monkeys on a human in  the state.

The mother, 26-year-old V Revathy, had left the baby to go to the bathroom and the baby’s  grandfather had gone to get a glass of water.

“We frantically searched all over the house and saw her body covered in blood lying  outside the house,” the child’s grandfather A Valayutham told the Star newspaper.

The baby also had serious bite and scratch marks.

Wildlife and national parks director Ishak Muhamad said his staff had later caught and  shot a monkey believed to have been responsible for the attack.

“We suspect the macaque was rummaging for food inside the house. It could have taken the  baby to the roof thinking the newborn was food,” he told the daily newspaper.

“The baby died when it fell to the ground. The monkey had apparently released the  newborn, probably because it was alarmed by the parents’ shouts,” Mr Ishak said.

The area where the family live has many trees where macaque monkeys have made their home.

“She was our bundle of joy and we were looking forward to spending many happy years with  her… I just cannot believe she’s gone,” said the baby’s father, V Neru, 29, who was not  at home when the incident occurred.