Story By:  Ana Marjanovic, Sub-Editor:  Michael Leidig, Agency:  Asia Wire Report

A Singaporean nanny who was hired from Facebook is on trial for allegedly giving sleeping pills and other drugs to babies in her care supposedly to keep them quiet.

Sa’adiah Jamari, 38, is accused of two counts of poisoning a 5-month-old baby and an 11-month-old child in 2016 in Singapore City, Singapore.

The nanny allegedly gave a cocktail of medication including meds designed to treat anxiety disorder and insomnia.

According to local media, Sa’adiah had been a registered nurse since 2002 and also listed her freelance nursing services online. The infants are reportedly not related to each other.

The mum of the youngest infant told jurors that she first suspected that something was amiss after noticing a change in the behaviour in her daughter.

In court, she told how she first contacted the woman in the dock via Facebook appealing for a Muslim babysitter and decided to hire her based on her experience.

She told the court that after a while, she found that the youngster seemed to be sleepier than usual and that her eyes were drooping down.

As the weeks went by, she allegedly also noticed that the girl’s voice had changed to become more sleepy.

In December 2016, the baby was admitted to hospital for an unreported condition and toxicology reports showed that it had been given 10 different kinds of drugs.

The report included sleeping pill temazepam along with antihistamine chlorpheniramine and alprazolam, which are used to treat anxiety disorders.

It was then that the family filed a police report against the nanny.

In the weeks following the mum saw a Facebook post from another woman in the area who said that her child had also been drugged by a nanny.

She reached out to the woman and allegedly found that her child was also drugged by Sa’adiah.

The mother of the older girl is expected to testify at a later date.

If Sa’adiah is found guilty of administering the drugs, she can be jailed for up to 10 years and fined.

The trial continues.

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