Three Held In Alleged Child Abuse Probe

SEREMBAN, Oct 8 (Bernama) -- Police have arrested three men to assist in the investigation of an alleged child abuse case, involving a six-year-old boy, in Batu 4, Port Dickson.

Port Dickson district police chief Supt Maslan Udin said that a 67-year-old woman lodged a report on Oct 3, after finding the boy crying, with visible injuries, at a house.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the child, an orphan whose father had passed away, was abandoned by his biological mother since infancy. The boy had been under the care of the complainant in Klang, Selangor, until 2021, when he was handed over to the adoptive father.

“During the time he was with the complainant, the boy was in good health, and they stayed in contact through video and phone calls. However, at the beginning of this month, communication was lost.

“The complainant's son went to the adoptive father's house and found the boy injured, crying, and lying naked on the floor,” he said in a statement today.

He said that acting on information, the police made separate arrests of three men, aged 32 to 36, in Taman Desa Rusa, Port Dickson and Taman Dataran Segar Lukut, to rescue the victims at, 3 am on Oct 3.

He added that a background check revealed that all the suspects had previous criminal and drug-related offences, with one of them testing positive for methamphetamine.

“Preliminary questioning revealed that the suspect assaulted the boy because the child was seen as stubborn and frequently urinated around the house. The weapons used, including a rattan and a water heater, were seized,” he said, adding that the case is being investigated under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001.

-- BERNAMA