Mum wants to take care of abused girl

She is happy her daughter is showing positive signs of recovery

KOTA BARU: The mother of a girl allegedly abused by her father and stepmother wants to take care of the five-year-old from now on.

The 28-year-old woman said she was relieved to see her daughter showing positive signs of recovery following treatment at the Raja Perempuan Zainab II Hospital here.

“Right now, I do not want to question her about anything. I do not want to remind her of the past. I want her to forget what has happened.

“I just want to give her the assurance that I will take care of her from now on,” she told reporters at the hospital.

The woman said her daughter was active and started to talk to her after having undergone intestinal surgery three days ago. The girl had apparently suffered from an obstruction in the intestine.

The girl, who was in the care of her father and stepmother in Rantau Panjang, Pasir Mas, was found by her mother in a weak condition with bruises and scars on her body and a wound on her head and was hunched apparently due to the broken backbone.

“I was delighted when my daughter told me she wanted to eat. I was saddened when she said it had been a long time since she had eaten,” she said.

The mother said she was informed by several villagers that her daughter had been abused by her guardians but she did not believe the story because her ex-husband had told her she was in good health.

She was also prevented from seeing her daughter, with her ex-husband giving all kinds of reasons to stop her from doing so, she said.

She dismissed allegations by some people that she had ignored her daughter over the past two years.

The woman said she only met her daughter last week after the stepmother contacted her to hand over the girl, saying she did not want to take care of her any longer.

An aunt of the girl said she learnt that the school attended by her niece had summoned the girl’s guardians after seeing her health deteriorating.

Kelantan police have arrested the father, 39, and stepmother, 25, for investigation into the case of alleged abuse.

The girl was found to have 10 broken bones, in the ribs, backbone and right shoulder, and a dislocated hip.

– BERNAMA