Step-grandmother to be charged over toddler’s murder in Kota Tinggi, while mother and grandfather are released on bail as prosecution witnesses
JOHOR BAHRU: Three individuals, including the step-grandmother of a one-year-four-month-old girl, have been detained to assist investigations into the murder of the toddler in Taman Sri Saujana, near Kota Tinggi, on Aug 2.
Johor Police chief Datuk Ab Rahaman Arsad said the other two suspects were the victim’s 18-year-old mother, a vocational college student, and her 47-year-old grandfather.
He said police received a report from the victim’s step-grandmother at about 9.30 am on July 31 concerning the girl’s death, which she claimed occurred while the child was sleeping at her home in Taman Sri Saujana.
According to him, the woman claimed that the victim showed no response when she tried to wake her, before healthcare personnel pronounced the child dead.
“At that time, the investigation was conducted under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001 for neglecting the victim until her death,” he said at a press conference at the Johor Police Contingent Headquarters here today.
Ab Rahaman said, a post-mortem conducted at Pasir Gudang Hospital here, however, found that the victim died from blunt force trauma to the abdomen and chest, with several wounds and bruises also found on her body.
He said police also suspected that the victim had been abused by being beaten or stepped on, adding that the child had been cared for by her grandfather and step-grandmother since birth.
“All the suspects were remanded for 11 days from Aug 2, and the case was being investigated under Section 302 of the Penal Code,” he said.
According to him, the investigation papers had been completed and referred to the Johor Prosecution Director’s office, while the victim’s step-grandmother would be charged at the Kota Tinggi Magistrate’s Court tomorrow.
Meanwhile, the victim’s grandfather and mother would be released on bail under Section 118 of the Criminal Procedure Code to serve as prosecution witnesses, he added.
