A Thai family has reported a daily-hire cleaner to the police after discovering disinfectant had been deliberately poured into their baby’s milk bottle, an incident that shocked social media users and prompted a warning to other parents.
The mother posted the story on the family's Facebook page on Friday.
She had hired a woman through a Facebook group to clean the house.
Everything appeared normal until around midday, when the baby’s grandmother prepared a baby's milk bottle that had been left out earlier that morning. After the baby drank briefly, she detected a strong smell of disinfectant, and immediately stopped the feeding.
The mother examined the baby’s bottle, and confirmed it contained disinfectant. The family rushed the infant to hospital, where doctors confirmed the child was safe but advised close monitoring for 24 hours.
When confronted, the cleaner reportedly said she could not remember handling the bottle and then left the house abruptly.
A review of the family's security camera footage showed the cleaner taking a half-full baby's bottle, adding disinfectant and then returning the bottle to the baby’s bedside.
The footage also revealed other disturbing behaviour, including taking photographs around the house when she should have been cleaning.
After the story was shared widely online, a social media user claiming to know the cleaner said that similar incidents had happened previously, suggesting behaviour aimed at causing families to leave their homes so valuables could be stolen. Authorities have not yet confirmed these claims.
