A 16-month-old girl died after allegedly being beaten and stomped on by her step-grandmother, who had been caring for her since birth in Kota Tinggi, Johor.
Johor police chief Datuk Ab Rahaman Arsad said the victim, who was born out of wedlock, had been left in the care of the 39-year-old woman by her 18-year-old mother, who was studying at a vocational college in Johor.
The child had reportedly lived with the woman and her husband, who was the girl’s step-grandfather, since she was born.
“Initial investigations found that the grandmother had allegedly stepped on and struck the victim with her hands and feet,” Rahaman said during a press conference at Johor police headquarters today.
He said the suspect lodged a report at around 9.30am on July 31, claiming that the girl had been found unresponsive while sleeping at their home in Taman Sri Saujana, Kota Tinggi.
According to the report, attempts were made to wake the child but she did not respond. Medical personnel were subsequently called and performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), but the girl was pronounced dead at around 10.30am.
The case was initially investigated under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001 for neglect resulting in death.
However, a post-mortem conducted by a forensic medical specialist at Pasir Gudang Hospital on August 2 found that the child’s death was caused by blunt-force trauma to the abdomen and chest.
Rahaman said further examination also revealed wounds and bruises on the girl’s body, which were believed to have been caused by abuse that ultimately led to her death.
Following the findings, police reclassified the investigation under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder and arrested the step-grandmother, her husband and the child’s mother to assist with investigations.
Checks found that none of the three suspects had previous criminal records, while urine screenings also returned negative for drugs.
All three were remanded from August 2 until tomorrow, while the completed investigation papers were submitted to the Johor prosecution director’s office yesterday.
Rahaman said police had since received instructions to charge the victim’s step-grandmother with murder at the Kota Tinggi Magistrate’s Court tomorrow.
Meanwhile, the girl’s step-grandfather and mother have been released on police bail under Section 118 of the Criminal Procedure Code and are expected to be called as prosecution witnesses.
