A 5-month-old baby girl in Malaysia was attacked by a wild monkey while her mother was busy in the kitchen.

The incident took place on Dec. 20 at a home in Taman Nusa Damai, Johor, when Siti Nur Asikin Sulaiman was boiling milk for her 5-month-old daughter, Zara.

"I put her on the bed in the master bedroom heading for the kitchen and at that time, my other two sons, a 15-year-old and eight-year-old were also at home," she told Harian Metro.

The mother said she rushed to the bedroom after hearing her little girl's scream.

"My third child at the time was in the main room watching television before Zara suddenly screamed and cried," she said.

When she entered the bedroom, she was shocked to find a wild monkey sitting on the baby’s back and ferociously beating and scratching her.

The mother got hold of the first thing she could find and tried to shoo the wild animal away, but it showed no signs of fear and began to drag the baby away.

"When I tried to chase it away, by using a broomstick, the monkey seemed to pull my baby’s hand and wanted to take her away," she told the outlet.

When the monkey did not leave her daughter, the woman began to cry for help. Listening to the mother's cries, a neighbor rushed into the home and chased the animal away.

When Siti Nur Asikin rushed to her baby and grabbed her, she noticed that her clothes were torn and she was bleeding from her back.

"During the incident, my husband was at work and was out of the area, so I drove to Sultan Ismail Hospital, Johor Bahru for treatment," Harian Metro quoted Siti Nur Asikin, as saying.

The doctor informed that Zara had suffered injuries to her neck and body and she needed to remain under observation for at least 14 days. She was also given a dose of rabies vaccine.

"I was heartbroken to see Zara’s inability to lie down, so I let her sleep on my body with her chest laying on me. My neighbor lodged a complaint online on the website of the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) on the same day," the 42-year-old mother added.

Siti Nur Asikin said repeated encounters with wild monkeys were reported in the neighborhood in the past, including an incident where a monkey ate a resident’s pet rabbit.

"The incident that happened to my baby was the first time. However, the presence of wild monkeys in this residential area is not the first time. Authorities have been present three times a day since the incident to carry out monitoring, including installing traps. However, no monkey arrests have been made. The group of wild animals live around a bush area about 300 meters from the residents’ houses," she said.

Johor Wildlife Director, Salman Saaban said that the area is under observation and will be constantly monitored from now on to avoid such serious and traumatizing incidents in the future.

"We have been monitoring and taking immediate action as soon as we received information related to this matter," World of Buzz quoted Saaban, as saying.

"According to the preliminary investigation, there were three monkeys suspected to be involved and roaming the area. One of them has been caught. The department will continue to set traps in the area and hunt for the monkeys to be disposed of because it has posed a security threat to the public," he added.

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