Express & Star Comment: Action must be taken after Rebecca Kandare death

That parents could commit such abhorrent acts of abuse on their own baby is inconceivable to any sane person. Poor Rebecca Kandare was not given a chance to live.

Her deluded parents following the rules of a sick religious cult deprived her of essential medical treatment and left her malnourished and suffering from the type of illnesses seen in impoverished third world countries.

They let her wither and die. She was grossly underweight, had little hair and no teeth. The pain she must have gone through is unimaginable.

The prison sentences of nine-and-half and eight years respectively to her parents Brian and Precious are an outrage in themselves. The likelihood is that they will be free within four years.

That is a injustice to Rebecca and to every disgusted member of our community.

We can shortly expect the findings of a Serious Case Review into this desperate affair to be published. It will reveal what public agencies knew and the interventions that could have prevented this horrific suffering.

Ultimately the Kandares are responsible for this atrocity – but in every child death there is a failure by those paid to protect our children.

We know there was contact between the Kandares and the NHS shortly after Rebecca's birth.

Her parents' behaviour must have triggered alarm bells.

Every time a baby or child is killed, we are told that lessons will be learned. But what is learned doesn't seem to come to fruition.

Wolverhampton has the highest levels of children placed into local authority care. But babies are still dying and being abused. This sinister trend must stop. There is something sick in society.

As well as the tragic case of baby Rebecca, there was also little Daniel Jones in Wolverhampton who died from a heroin overdose. Both his parents were recovering drug addicts.

Tragic Daniel Pelka in Coventry was starved and subjected to terrifying and dreadful abuse by his mother and her partner.

And 14-month-old Santino Balaz was murdered by his step-father who along with Santino's mother initially blamed the death on their Birmingham home being haunted by ghosts.

Rebecca and other victims were not afforded second chances – nor must our public protection officials.

Lessons have been learned. Now it is time for action.