BURNS and marks from beatings were among the severe injuries suffered by a four-year-old boy who died in Johor Baru yesterday of suspected abuse. 

Johor police chief Kamarul Zaman Mamat said preliminary investigations revealed that the child, who died at Sultan Ismail Hospital (HSI), had serious injuries all over his body. 

“The examination on the victim’s body was sad and heartbreaking. The injuries could be a result of beatings and also burn marks due to fire or hot objects, including on his genitals,” he told reporters at the HSI forensic unit today. 

He said the victim, who was the youngest of 11, was admitted to the intensive care unit on Friday and pronounced dead at 6.40pm on Monday. 

Kamarul Zaman said the injuries found were both old and new, and police were still waiting for the autopsy report. 

The boy, whose parents were jailed in September for a drug offence, was initially looked after by his third sister before she left him under her friend’s care. 

He said that about two weeks after the boy was left with his sister’s friend, the husband of the babysitter found the boy unconscious at home in Senggarang, Batu Pahat. 

“When the husband took the boy to his wife, she decided to bring him to hospital where doctors advised her to lodge a police report,” he added. 

He said the friend felt the boy’s sister was not able to take care of him and suggested that she be allowed to look after him. 

Kamarul Zaman said five people aged between 15 and 37 have been arrested to assist in the investigations, including the victim’s 19-year-old sister and her 37-year-old husband. 

They have been remanded for seven days until December 31. 

He said the remains would be handed over to the next of kin confirmed by the Social Welfare Department after the post-mortem is complete. 

Kamarul Zaman said the case was initially investigated under section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001 but was later reclassified under section 302 of the Penal Code for murder. – Bernama, December 27, 2022.