Babies are very susceptible to "shaken baby syndrome." (File photo)

It is a heartwarming sight to watch adults hold crying babies, gently rocking them while singing lullabies. But a recent incident in Taiwan has become a sensation and turned that image on its head. One father shook his seven-month-old baby girl to death as she slept.

The man was the father of triplets in Xinbei, a city in Taiwan. One day, he sat with his seven-month-old baby girl on a rocking chair, shaking and teasing her as she dozed. But he never expected such a terrible outcome. He suddenly noticed that his daughter was foaming at the mouth and falling into a stupor. He and his wife rushed to the hospital, only to have their baby declared dead on arrival.

The infant had no significant external injuries. She was diagnosed at the hospital as having suffered from "shaken baby syndrome." It seems that the father damaged the baby's brain while rocking her body too vigorously.

"Adults often feel tired after a hard day of work, so it's not unreasonable to want a crying baby to fall asleep as soon as possible. But parents with insufficient medical knowledge can easily hurt babies; one possible outcome of shaking a baby is cerebral hemorrhage," said Tong Meiling, Chief Physician of the Children's Health Center in Nanjing.