Baling police chief Brandon Richard Joe said police received a call at 12.20am from Baling Hospital staff reporting that the baby died while receiving treatment at the emergency ward.

He said the incident occurred at the intersection near Kampung Sadek on Jalan Baru Kulim.

“The accident involved a car driven by a 27-year-old man with his 41-year-old wife and baby, heading from Gerik to Kupang, and a lorry driven by a 43-year-old man travelling in the same direction from Kelantan to Penang,” Sinar Harian reported him as saying.

All those involved were injured and sent to Baling Hospital for treatment.

The baby’s body was sent to the forensic department at Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital in Alor Setar for an autopsy.

Brandon said the lorry driver has been detained for further investigation after a urine test returned positive for drugs.

The case is being investigated under Section 44(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987 for causing death by driving under the influence, which provides for 10 to 15 years’ imprisonment and a fine of RM50,000 to RM100,000.