KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 21 — The Kedah Social Welfare Department (JKM) will temporary care for a five-year-old Rohingya boy from Myanmar, the son of a suspect in a triple murder case involving his wife and two children, and place him in a safe location.

State Exco for Welfare, Women, Family, Community, and Unity, Datuk Halimaton Shaadiah Saad, said that the child, who is still traumatised from the ordeal, was taken to Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital (HSB) yesterday afternoon for further examination and treatment, Malay news portal Harian Metro reported today.

She said the boy was able to converse with JKM officers.

"We gave him some toys, and he wanted to play with them. When we asked him questions, he responded.

"He said that his father (the suspect) loved him very much, which might be why he wasn’t harmed on the day of the incident,” she said during a press conference in Alor Setar today.

Halimaton Shaadiah said there were old wounds under the child’s cheek, which could be a common occurrence and possibly the result of him not following instructions.

"He seems to be in his own world and is not behaving like local children in the village who would be depressed if they went through something like this.

"However, JKM is prepared to offer counselling services to help him move past what happened,” she said.

Halimaton Shaadiah also said that JKM welcomed the Myanmar community to take the boy in, but reminded that holders of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) cards cannot be adopted as they are not citizens.

Yesterday, a foreign man was remanded for seven days to assist in the investigation of the murder of a woman and her daughter discovered in a drain behind an abandoned building along the Lebuhraya Sultan Abdul Halim on Monday.

The 43-year-old suspect was arrested at a mosque in Bukit Pinang on Monday night.

Police also believe that a two-year-old boy found dead by a passerby at Pantai Leman, Kuala Kedah yesterday afternoon was connected to the murder of a woman and her daughter.

The five-year-old boy is the sole surviving child of the suspect’s three children. He was rescued by police after the suspect’s arrest.