Woman arrested for allegedly beating adopted daughter with rubber hose

 

The rubber hose allegedly used to beat the child, which was seized as evidence. – Police photo

SARATOK (Feb 9): Police here arrested a woman for allegedly abusing her 11-year-old adopted daughter by beating the child with a rubber hose and slapping her.

Saratok police chief DSP Mathew Manggie said the matter came to light when a teacher at the victim’s school received a video via WhatsApp on Feb 5 from another teacher, who happened to be the victim’s neighbour, which allegedly captured the sound of the child crying and being beaten with a hard object.

“On Feb 6 at around 10.45am, the complainant called the victim to her office and discovered bruises on the child’s face and back.

“The victim informed that she had been slapped on both cheeks and beaten on her back with a hose by the suspect, who is her adoptive mother,” he said in a statement.

He added that the teacher proceeded to file a police report on Feb 7, leading to the arrest of the 47-year-old suspect.

Mathew said initial investigations revealed the suspect has been the victim’s legal guardian since the child was three years old.

According to him, the alleged beating happened after the suspect became angry when the child asked what items she needed to bring for her tuition class that evening.

Following the incident, he said the victim was taken to Saratok Hospital for a checkup and later referred to Sarikei Hospital, where doctors there confirmed skin and soft tissue injuries to her back and face.

He added that the victim also claimed that she had been frequently beaten by the suspect over the past year.

The suspect has been remanded for four days from Feb 7 for further investigation under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001. - borneopost