The 16-month-old toddler who was scalded by a maid and suffered second-degree burns might need to undergo surgery, if she doesn't heal on her own.

Toddler has been returning to hospital every other day

The toddler's mother, Low Mei Liang, said to Shin Min Daily News that her child has to return to the hospital every other day to clean her wounds. Each time, she cried until her voice became hoarse.

Low said to SMDN:

"The doctor said that her burns are quite serious, and they're afraid that her middle finger and pinkie finger are affected. They want to observe her for a period of time. If she cannot heal on her own, she might need to undergo general anesthesia and graft flesh and skin from her buttocks onto her hand."

Here are the extent of Low's daughter's injuries.

Readers are warned that the images are graphic.

Low claimed that while the doctor was tending to the wounds, they apparently told her they believed the injuries "were no accident".

Older daughter traumatised

Low's other daughter, an 8-year-old, told her that she felt responsible for not looking after her sister.

At the time of the incident, the older sister was bathing. She rushed out of the toilet when she heard her younger sister's cries, reported SMDN.

"My elder daughter has been traumatised by this incident, and believes that she is responsible for it. Whenever we talk about the incident, she would cover her ears and say, 'stop talking about it'," said Low to the Chinese paper.

According to Low, the maid had dunked the toddler's hand into a pot on a stove four times, and did not stop even when the girl started crying.

Low added that the maid, who is usually quiet and gentle, kept shouting on the day of the incident. "She was like a different person from before," Low told SMDN.

The paper added that Low does not intend to hire another maid, and instead intends to take no-pay leave to take care of her children herself.

Top photo via Amy Low Mei Liang/FB