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Friday October 8, 2010 Baby could have been mistaken for pet’s offspring SEREMBAN: The macaque that abducted and bit a four-day-old baby here may have mistaken the newborn as the offspring of the family’s pet female monkey. State Wildlife and National Parks officer Zafifi Ramli said the monkey could have been provoked to attack the baby when it felt its position as the alpha male in the area threatened. “The male may have been attracted to the female macaque kept by the family. It is possible that the monkey attacked the baby after it mistook the newborn for the female’s offspring when it felt its position as the alpha male was at stake,” he said. The last such incident, he said, was in 2008 when a kindergarten pupil survived an attack by a monkey in Taman Tuanku Ja’afar. He said the department had received a complaint a year ago from Taman Happy Garden residents and had acted on it by trapping the monkeys that were being a menace. “We usually set traps and take the offending monkeys away but if the monkeys are aggressive and are a threat to security, we sometimes have no choice but to shoot them,” he said, adding that complaints had also been received from residents in Taman SEA, Taman Desa Ros and Taman Guru previously. “Based on our investigations, we believe the monkey that was shot by our officers was the one responsible for the attack as it had traces of blood on its mouth,” he said. However, he could not confirm if the blood belonged to the infant or was from the injuries sustained by the monkey after it fell from the tree. Earlier, Wildlife and National Parks Department director Ishak Muhamad said the family did not commit an offence by keeping the monkey as a pet. Seremban Municipal Council president Datuk Abdul Halim Abdul Latif said such complaints were normally referred to the Wildlife Department as the council was not equipped to handle such cases. |
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Saturday October 9, 2010 Monkey-attack family to get aid By CHITRA S. NATHAN newsdesk@thestar.com.my SEREMBAN: The family of the infant who died after a vicious attack by a monkey here on Wednesday is entitled to receive aid from a fund for victims of brutal animal attacks. Negri Sembilan Wildlife and National Parks director Ishak Muhamad said he was now preparing a report of the incident for the state Welfare Department. “The family is entitled to receive assistance from the fund, known as Tabung Bantuan Mangsa Serangan Binatang Buas. “We will soon be completing our report, which will include the findings of the police and the post-mortem results,” he told The Star. ![]() Grieving family: State plantation affairs, human resources, environment and public complaints committee chairman Datuk V.S. Mogan consoling the dead infant’s grandfather A. Valayutham as the baby’s parents V. Nehru and Revathy Vanathia look on. On Wednesday, a monkey stole into the living room of the family’s home near Happy Garden here, snatched the four-day-old girl and fled to the roof of the house. After a frantic search, the monkey was spotted holding the baby with parts of the head, face and neck badly bitten. The monkey was later shot dead by wildlife officials. “It is a harrowing experience for them to lose their newborn baby under such tragic circumstances. “We hope they will be able to pick up the pieces and move on,” said Ishak, adding that his officers will continue to keep watch over the area to ensure there was no danger posed to the residents. “As for now, there don’t seem to be monkeys in the area but we want to be sure and will keep watch for a few more days,” he said. A resident, P. James, 46, said they had put up with the monkey menace for many years but never thought it would result in the loss of life. Chong Kim Fatt, 59, said the monkeys often came to the neighbourhood to forage for food. “We cannot blame the monkeys for coming here in search of food ... their habitat has suffered as a result of rapid development in the area.” A group of boys who regularly play football near the jungle, said that monkeys could still be seen on the trees. A mechanic, who only wanted to be known as Wong, said he usually saw a pair of monkeys near his workshop, which he had been operating for over 20 years. “The monkeys usually hang around the workshop because there are fruit trees nearby. They can be aggressive and don’t fear humans,” he said. Another resident only identified as Ramli, in his 60s, claimed that a male monkey, larger than the one that was shot, was still on the loose. |
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Wednesday October 13, 2010 Bereaved mum fears again as macaques show up By CHITRA S. NATHAN newsdesk@thestar.com.my SEREMBAN: Almost a week after the horrific death of her baby from a monkey attack, Revathy Vanathia was traumatised by the sight of two macaques in her backyard. “Seeing those monkeys brought back memories of my newborn daughter. The monkey I saw this morning was the largest I’ve seen so far,” she said on Monday. “I just want the monkeys gone so the same thing will not happen to another person.” ![]() Scary simian: One of the macaques sitting on the roof of an abandoned house near Revathy Vanathia’s home in Seremban yesterday. She had previously been assured by the state Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) officers that the area was macaque-free. Last Wednesday, a monkey had gone into the living room of the family’s wooden home, adjacent to Taman Happy Garden here, snatched the four-day-old baby girl and fled up the roof of the house. After a frantic search, the baby’s body was discovered outside the house with her face badly bitten. She was rushed to the Tuanku Ja’afar Hospital here where she was pronounced dead. After sighting the monkeys on Monday, Revathy contacted Rahang assemblyman M.K. Arumugam, who immediately called Perhilitan officers to the site. “The officers came immediately and shot one of the monkeys dead. But another larger one, which seemed more aggressive, managed to escape,” he said. Arumugam commended the officers for their speedy action but said he was still worried that the monkey, which was on the loose, may pose a threat to residents of the area. Arumugam said he had also informed the Seremban Municipal Council to issue notices to irresponsible landowners. “It is their duty to keep their plot of land clean. Otherwise, it may attract all sorts of wildlife,” he said. State Perhilitan director Ishak Muhamad said a team of three officers were already near Revathy’s home when he received Arumugam’s phone call. “We were already in the area as we are still keeping watch. When we received the report, the officers went straight over and managed to shoot a female monkey,” he said. Ishak, however, denied claims that the monkey that escaped was the one responsible for the attack on the baby and believed the culprit was the monkey that was shot dead. |
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