AN 18-year-old boy who was beaten into a coma dreamt of being a composer. He was planning to sign up for a course in Kuala Lumpur soon. 

Now he is lying in a hospital bed, declared brain-dead after being assaulted by a group of youths on Friday night.

Yesterday, his 43-year-old mother and extended relatives were hit with another horrifying news – the teen was also allegedly sodomised by his attackers.

The youth’s uncle said the family was only told of the alleged injuries to the anus and genitals some 36 hours after the teen was first taken to Penang Hospital.

“His genitals were twisted. The news just destroyed his mother. She is traumatised. When the boy was declared brain-dead, his mother accepted the news. But this, she could not accept. 

“She fears for her children. If he ever recovers, what future will he have?” he told reporters at the hospital today.

According to police investigations,the boy from Taman Tun Sardon, Bukit Gelugor, was allegedly beaten up late Friday night when he and a 19-year-old friend ran into two other teens at a burger stall in the neighbourhood. 

The other teens began to harass the two friends, which prompted the 18 year-old to tell them off. But the two hooligans then called up six other youths who arrived on motorcycles.

The group hit the two friends with their fists and helmets. The 19-year-old managed to escape but the 18-year-old was taken by the group to a nearby field.

By the time the boy was found and sent to Penang Hospital early Saturday, he was already unconscious.

Police have since arrested five suspects. An 18-year-old college student was detained on Saturday. Another four – an 18-year-old college student; an unemployed teen, 18; and two secondary school students, both 17 – were picked up yesterday.

The 19-year-old friend told police that he knew the suspects who assaulted them as they were schoolmates (at SMK Dato Haji Mat Nor Ahmad) who had bullied the two friends.

The boy’s aunt and uncle said he was a good boy.

“He is a very gentle person. He won’t even hurt an insect at home. He picks them up and takes them outside to let them go.

“He wants to be a music composer and now he is just lying there,” she said, while crying uncontrollably.

His mother was too distraught to speak to the media. One of her 35-year-old cousins told reporters that the family were unhappy with the hospital’s failure to check his injuries thoroughly when he arrived at the hospital.

“It was some 36 hours after he was sent to the hospital and declared brain-dead that we were told he also suffered injuries to his private parts.

“We want the police to tell us what is being done. We want updates. This cannot happen to others.”

Lawyer Baljit Singh, who knew several of the boy’s aunts, urged the police to look into the case thoroughly and keep the family up to speed.

Northeast district police chief Anuar Omar said the police met the grieving family at the hospital to brief them about the ongoing investigation and what actions were being taken.

“They are satisfied with what the police are doing, but they are unhappy with the  hospital for not doing a thorough inspection on the victim when he was brought to there.

“That was why the family called the media to highlight the case. The situation is under control.” – June 12, 2017.