Police arrested a 34-year-old man in Bahau today for allegedly forcing his 10-year-old son to steal daily necessities from business premises.
Jempol deputy police chief R Premkumar said police received a report at about 11.45am regarding a boy who was caught stealing a 200g packet of Nescafé, allegedly on the instructions of his father.
He said the incident was reported by a supermarket supervisor at the Bahau police station, which led to the arrest of the suspect.
The man will be remanded tomorrow to assist investigations, while the child has been handed over to his mother.
“Preliminary investigations found that the suspect had frequently forced his eldest son to steal daily necessities, such as Milo, from several other premises in the past.
“If the child refused, the suspect would scold him and threaten to cause him harm,” Premkumar said in a statement.
A background check revealed that the suspect has seven prior criminal and drug-related records, including an offence under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001 for exposing a child to circumstances likely to cause physical or emotional injury.
Police have opened two investigation papers against the suspect under the Penal Code and the Child Act 2001.
