Baby girl scratched by monkey undergoes surgery

A baby girl who was scratched on the left cheek by a pet monkey has undergone surgery at the Sultanah Nur Zahirah Hospital.

Khaiffah Nurul Damia Qhalifa Syed Mohd Hishamudin, eight months, was attacked by the monkey last Thursday as her mother carried her past the chained animal at the rear of their house in Kampung Sungai Buaya at about 9am.

Her father, Syed Mohd Hishamudin Syed Mohd Yassin, 36, said that after the five-hour surgery yesterday, his daughter could eat and drink.

He said the family would hand over the monkey they had bred over the past three days to the National Parks and Wildlife Department.

This was the second time that the monkey had scratched his daughter, the first time on a hand when she was four months old, he said.