SABAH police believe jealousy and anger may have influenced four teenage girls from Pulau Bum-Bum, Semporna, to batter a baby boy to death last Friday.

The four suspects, aged between 16 and 19, knew the 20-month-old baby’s mother, Mia Khalishah, and had various reasons to be angry with her, said Sabah police commissioner Omar Mammah.

One of the suspects, aged 19, was jealous that her boyfriend began paying attention to the baby’s mother, Omar told reporters today.

Another suspect, aged 18, lived with Mia and was frequently scolded by the 23-year-old mother.

According to Omar, the boy’s injuries showed that he had been hit on the cheek, thrown on a mattress, and his face had hit a metal bar on the side of a bed.

He was also smothered with a blanket for five minutes and showed signs that someone had stepped on his back.

The boy’s mother had left the house and her son with the girls while going out to buy milk.

“When the boy’s mother returned, she noticed the boy was pale and had stopped breathing.

“Hospital staff noted Mia’s arrival at the Semporna hospital at 12.32pm, with the boy unconscious and his cheek bruised.

“Medical officers tried to resuscitate him but failed. The boy was pronounced dead at 6.35pm,” Omar said, adding the mother had to travel some distance to reach the hospital, first driving her car to the coast of Pulau Bum-Bum, from where she took a boat to Semporna on the mainland.

The mother divorced about a year ago, while the four suspects are foreigners without any identification papers.

They were arrested on the day of the boy’s death after the mother lodged a police report.

The four women are now on remand until September 27 and Omar said they will likely be charged in court next week. – September 24, 2019.