IPOH, May 16 — The younger brother of an eight-year-old girl who died early yesterday morning is believed to have been a victim of abuse by their aunt and uncle.

Perak police chief Datuk Mior Faridalathrash Wahid, said the boy, aged six, was being treated at the Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital (HRPB) Ipoh, here, and there were old and new physical injuries on his body, believed to be due to abuse.

"There are marks of old and new physical injuries on his body believed to be a result of being abused by the same suspects who abused the victim’s sister until she died,” he said in a statement today.

This morning, a husband and wife, both 40, who were detained yesterday following the death of the girl who was believed to have been abused, were remanded for seven days, starting today, to assist in the investigation under Section 302 of the Penal Code.

The remand order against the couple, from Jitra, Kedah, was issued by Magistrate Anis Hanini Abdullah after receiving an application from the police at the Ipoh Magistrates’ Court.

Yesterday, Mior Faridalathrash was reported to have said that the arrest of the two suspects was made following a report of the girl’s death from a medical officer at the Emergency and Trauma Department, HRPB at about 3.14am.

He said that the medical officer made a report that the department received a paediatric patient who was brought by ambulance and was pronounced dead at about 1.45am.

He said that the post-mortem, conducted by a pathologist from the HRPB Forensic Department, found that the victim died from blunt force trauma.

It is understood that the boy was rescued by the police at a house in Desa Pengkalan Bandaraya, here, last night after receiving information on an abuse case, before being taken to HRPB for treatment. — Bernama