A 36-year-old babysitter in Surabaya, Indonesia has been charged under local laws, including one on domestic violence, for allegedly feeding a two-year-old child appetite stimulants and steroids for over a year. The babysitter confessed to giving the medications to help the child gain weight as she wanted to see him get fatter. However, she did not have proper knowledge or health education to be doing such a thing. The babysitter has been charged under two laws, with a minimum of five years imprisonment and a maximum of 20 years in prison as potential punishment.
The toddler, who was undergoing therapy due to difficulty eating, gained over 6kg in a year and now weighs 19kg. However, the child’s mother discovered blue and orange pills used to facilitate her son’s weight gain, which were given in adult dosages and not suitable for children. The mother reported the case to the police on Aug 30 after her son’s condition worsened when the medication was stopped. The babysitter was arrested on Sep 27 and Mdm Linggra, the mother, posted on social media that she was sending her son to regular appointments in Singapore every three months.
The arrested babysitter bought the medications through an online marketplace for a low cost. The medications given to the toddler were steroid dexamethasone and appetite stimulant cyproheptadine, which are not suitable for children and were mixed with water for administration. Mdm Linggra shared that her son’s condition worsened when the medications were stopped, and he refused to eat or drink. Concerned for her son’s well-being, she brought him to the emergency department and he was hospitalised for a week in Surabaya. The East Java Regional Police team will investigate other cases of babysitters feeding children appetite stimulants as the arrested woman claimed it is a common practice among her fellow babysitter friends.
Messages shared by Mdm Linggra from other mothers revealed similar experiences of medications being given to children by babysitters. One mother shared that her baby cousin was overfed with appetite stimulants by a babysitter until he became very fat and once the babysitter quit, he could not eat and lost a significant amount of weight. Another mother shared that she discovered her child had been given medication by her babysitter for over two years, only after checking CCTV footage. The police are examining the suspect’s mobile phone conversations to gather evidence on other babysitters who may have used similar methods on the children under their care.
Mdm Linggra Kapoor is sending her son for regular appointments in Singapore and shared her concerns on social media. The arrested babysitter confessed to police about giving medications to help children gain weight and stated that it is a common practice among her friends. The toddler’s weight gain was concerning and led to his hospitalization. The East Java Regional Police team will investigate other cases of babysitters feeding appetite stimulants to children and are focusing on gathering evidence from the suspect’s mobile phone conversations. Messages shared from other mothers highlighted similar experiences of medications being administered to children by babysitters.
