JOHOR BARU, Jan 4 — The elder sister of a deceased four-year-old boy, believed to have died due to abuse in Batu Pahat last week, will be among three suspects who will be charged in court tomorrow.
In confirming this, Johor police chief Datuk Kamarul Zaman Mamat said investigators had received instructions from the deputy public prosecutor's office to charge the trio at the Batu Pahat Magistrate's Court.
"The three, including the sister of the deceased boy, who was believed to be abused to death in Senggarang, Batu Pahat, will be charged tomorrow.
"Two other suspects will be prosecution witnesses in the case,” he said at a press conference at the Region Two Marine Police Force headquarters in Tampoi here today.
Kamarul Zaman was commenting on the latest development of the probe into the boy’s death. Previously, some media have reported the deceased boy’s name as Lokman.
Last Saturday, it was reported that the Batu Pahat Magistrate's Court had extended the remand order for five suspects in the case that has since been classified a murder probe.
On Monday last week, it was reported that the boy, who was being treated for suspected abuse, died at the Intensive Care Unit of the Sultan Ismail Hospital here after initially passing out at a house in Senggarang, Batu Pahat.
Previously, police had confirmed that the boy’s death was from blunt force trauma.
The case was initially investigated for abuse under Section 31(1)(a) of the Children's Act 2001. However, after the boy’s death, investigators reclassified the investigation for murder under Section 302 of the Penal Code.
Meanwhile, in a separate case, police credited neighbours of a burnt nine-year-old boy in Pontian for highlighting his ordeal after the victim’s family decided against sending him to the hospital.
Kamarul Zaman said that the boy sustained burns to his body after playing with fire in front of his family home.
He said the boy’s family decided to conceal the incident and treated his injuries at home.
"Shortly after that, the boy’s neighbours learnt of the incident after noticing the child’s injury via WhatsApp, before lodging a police report,” he said, without elaborating on how pictures of the boy’s injuries ended up on WhatsApp.
Kamarul Zaman said police found that the child suffered burn marks on his body and needed medical treatment from a hospital.
He said that the child has now been rescued and is currently receiving treatment at the Sultanah Aminah Hospital.
Kamarul Zaman urged the public to immediately report to the police or contact other related agencies such as the Social Welfare Department or the Nur Kasih hotline upon learning of any suspected child abuse case.
He assured that the Johor police contingent would work with any relevant agencies and ministries to protect the rights of neglected children.
